Fading Futures
by Chosha Kurenai
Summary: A modern day boy goes back in time to the Meiji era to help stop time from being altered... and to play matchmaker! KK all the way! My first Fanfiction
1. Chapter 1

Fading Futures

A.N. Konnichiwa Minna! Welcome to my very 1st Fanfiction: _Fading Futures. _I was trying to get a mix of humour, angst and stuff, but it would be great if you could review and tell me what you think. If it's really bad, please don't be too mad, it is only my first Fanfiction, but that little support could help this Fanfiction virgin stop prating up too much. Arigato gozaimasu!

Now here's the part to make all you solicitor types happy. I don't own _Rurouni Kenshin_ (damn!) or any of its characters (grrrrrrr). They belong to that lucky man Nobuhiro Watsuki and companies like _Shogun jump_ etc, etc. I do, however own this story and any character that doesn't appear in the actual Manga or anime.

Oh yeah, there are also a few spoilers throughout, so watch out, okay?

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter One 

The Assignment

"Shinya Himura!"

"Oro!"

Shinya Blushed furiously at the titters that swept across the classroom and ran his fingers through his unruly dark hair. Miyoshi-sensei - a short podgy old Teacher with a ruler straight moustache, balding head and an expression of someone who had just sucked on a sour lemon - sighed in exasperation and returned to his padded chair behind his large desk, all the time watching the boy over the rim of his thick, round glasses. Shinya felt himself, if it was at all possible, turn even redder than before as he realised with horror that he had just fallen asleep in front of the entire class.

"Well, now that Himura-kun has decided to join us," Miyoshi drawled in a monotone "I would like to inform you all about the assignment that has been set for you over the half term holidays."

There was a collective groan from the class. Shinya put his head into his hands and almost wept himself. _Perfect,_ he thought miserably _just bloody perfect._ As if it wasn't bad enough that he had been feeling under the weather lately, put now they also had a project that they had to do during their rare moments of freedom? And a History project at that! _Just like old Sour puss Miyoshi to suck all the fun out of the holidays like that,_ he thought bitterly as he rubbed his tired, violet-coloured eyes and looked dejectedly back at the old teacher once more.

"As you all know" Miyoshi continued, sill in the same Monotone, (_and he wonders why I fell asleep!_ Shinya grumbled silently) as he stood up once more and wrote on the large black board with a podgy hand "Next term we will be beginning our study of one of the greatest turning points in history – The Meiji Restoration and the period of the Bakumatsu." He moved away from the board and pointed at the words now scrawled across it: 'famous figures of the Bakumatsu'. Miyoshi turned towards the darkly grumbling class again.

"Before we begin the in-depth study of the subject, you are to research the life of one famous figure of this time period."

Miyoshi reached into the set of draws behind him and pulled out a shabby looking tin decorated with faded sakura blossoms, neatly placing it on the desktop. "The names of some of these figures have been noted on slips of paper and will be chosen at random. The name of the person you draw will be the person you must research for your project."

His hawk-like eyes travelled around the class before coming to a disproving halt on Shinya, who resisted the urge to glare back. It wasn't his fault he had been feeling so tired of late. However, he didn't hold his eyes for long - not many could hold Shinya's gaze for long when he was annoyed – and pulled a bright blue register towards him. He stroked his ruler-straight moustache, cleared his throat and said "when I call out your name, you will come forward and take a name from the tin. Aikawa, Seiko"

A plain looking girl wearing plated pigtails and a rather bored expression on her face stood up and edged around the desks towards the front of the class, where she took out a folded piece of paper from Miyoshi's tin. As she made her way back to her seat, she unfolded the paper and glanced at it. Her face dropped even more.

"Asou, Tomoji"

A tall lanky boy with dark brown hair gelled up into spikes stood up and rolled his eyes at Shinya in a way that clearly stated: _do you want to strangle him, or shall I?_ Shinya quickly suppressed a laugh and returned the look with a grin. His friend smirked back before sauntering up to the front and snatching a paper from the tin. Returning to his seat he unfolded it and pulled a look of disgust on his face.

A few more of Shinya's classmates were called forwards to receive a name from the tin. A few pulled faces similar to Tomoji's, while others glared at an oblivious Miyoshi or at the paper itself. Shinya was just observing a pretty girl named 'Harada, Yukie', with long, silky blue-black hair and beautiful emerald green eyes, who returned to her seat, grinned across to him and, with a wink, mouthed _what a bore_, before Shinya heard Miyoshi say in his usual drawl "Himura, Shinya".

With apprehension, Shinya rose from his own desk and walked around 'Hidaka, Toru', who was making his own way back to his seat, while stepping over someone's bag – he'd suffered enough embarrassment for one day without falling flat on his face in front of everyone as well. Not even glancing at the teacher, Shinya thrust his hand into the tin, clasped a folded paper in his hand and returned to his seat, remembering just in time to step over the bag in the ally. Miyoshi continued to call out the student's names as Shinya slipped back into his chair and looked at the paper now grasped in his fingers. As was Miyoshi's preference, the paper was of a good quality and lightly tinted blue, neatly trimmed and folded to perfection. Carefully he unfolded the flimsy sheet and glanced down at the words.

_Hitokiri Battosai_

Shinya stared at the words, his amethyst eyes wide. Even though they hadn't studied the Bakumatsu period in class yet, he had heard of this warrior before. Even now there were some tales told about him, passed down from generation to generation. Legends from the Bakumatsu…

According to the legends, if legends were to be believed, the Hitokiri Battosai had been one of the strongest warriors of all time. They said that he had been the reason for the Ishin Shishi victory and, with his bloodstained blade, had slashed open a new age before he vanished – but that was when most of the legends varied. Some said he was seven feet tall with eyes of fire. Some say he was immortal, born of the gods – an angel of death. Others said he used sorcery to defeat thousands upon thousands of men in only a few swings of his katana. However, the few things that each legend agreed on was that the Hitokiri Battosai had hair red as blood and his cheek was marked by a strange, cross shaped scar. Most of it, Shinya was sure, was exaggerated. Who are seven feet tall now, never mind back then 140 years ago? No one, however skilled, could be immortal, though ones of great skill were described to be. And no one had 'eyes of fire', though eyes when glaring with certain intensity could look as if they blazed. Of course, he did believe Battosai could have had red hair. Why not? Though there weren't many full-blooded Japanese around with red hair, Shinya knew that people in his family had been born with red hair, though it did tend to skip some generations – like him for instance.

Finally Miyoshi called out the last name on the register ('Yoshizawa, Rokuro') and pushed it to one side. Once again he addressed the now severally depressed class.

"This project will be marked on content, written and communication skills and will be presented to the class on the first lesson back from the Easter holidays. No Exceptions!" he glared pointedly at Tomoji, who grimaced.

Somewhere around the school the bell sounded, signalling the end of school and the whole class brightened up immensely. "I will see you all on the first day of term. Dismissed."

Thunder roared as the chairs moved back as one and everyone stood up, hastily exiting for their freedom. Everyone chatted pleasantly about the holidays as they exited the dull halls of the school into the sunlight of the grounds, spirits only slightly dampened by the upcoming prospect of the assignment.

Shinya stretched in the sun's warmth and caught up to his friends waiting for him by the school gates. Tomoji was standing arguing (as usual) with a quiet, sullen looking boy with straight black hair and cool, steel-grey eyes, named Keiichi Matsuo, while Yukie waved energetically at Shinya's approach, a large smile on her radiant face. Shinya grinned back and she hugged him. Tomoji and Keiichi stopped arguing immediately.

As they made their way through the gates, Tomoji bounded up to him and lent on his shoulder. "So, Shinya" he said with a glint in his eye "even though old sour puss's lessons are boring, you don't usually fall asleep in them. What ya been doing that you have to fall asleep in the day, huh?" he winked and nudged him suggestively. Shinya rolled his eyes. Trust Tomoji to think of something like that.

Shinya calmly disentangled himself from Tomoji's hold. "Funnily enough, Tomo, not everyone is like you" he said softly " I just… haven't been feeling all that well lately."

"Oooh, You're not sick, are you, Shin?" Yukie reached up and touched him on the forehead, comparing it with her own. "Hn, you're a little warm. Maybe you should get some extra sleep when you get home. See if you can get off kendo practice tonight."

Shinya snorted. "That's really unlikely" he pointed out. Shinya's grandfather, Kiyoshi Himura, was his kendo sensei and a very strict man, especially about the sword. Even if Shinya was _dying_ he doubted his Grandpa would give him a day off.

"Oi, you can't get sick!" Tomoji wailed "Who will help me with this dumb project!"

Yukie glared at Tomoji and hit him hard on the shoulder – he was too tall for her to reach his head. "You jerk!" she shouted "sort out your priorities why don't you!"

"You'll have to do it yourself for once" Keiichi grunted. Yukie calmed down a little at Tomoji's horrified expression and giggled, linking Shinya's arm protectively.

"What? And break my record?" Tomoji faked disgust "you nuts?" they all laughed.

"You're hopeless" Shinya sighed in mock defeat, once he brought his laughter under control.

"Talking about projects, who did you get?" Yukie asked them "I got Kogoro Katsura. I think he was one of the leaders of the Ishin Shishi from Choshu"

"Who-where?"

"Cho-shu, renamed Yamaguchi after the revolution" Yukie said knowledgeably, more slowly for Tomoji's benefit. "Honestly, don't you read?" she sighed hopelessly when he merely shrugged.

"Well, you would know about that, your dad works at the museum."

"Err, Tomoji, I know that too" Shinya pointed out

"And I do" interjected Keiichi

Tomoji paused. "Yeah, well, Your family would know, Shin, it's very…traditional." Shinya merely shrugged at that, knowing it was the truth "and you just would" he growled at Keiichi who grinned wolfishly. "Anyway, I got someone called 'Hajime Saito'. Dunno who he is"

Everyone fell over anime style.

"You're an idiot, you know that" snapped Keiichi "everyone knows that he was captain of the 3rd Shinsengumi unit, one of the great Wolves of Mibu."

"Really!" Tomoji said brightly "and what else did he…"

"You're on your own!"

"So, who'd you get, Kei?" asked Shinya, intrigued.

"Toshimichi Okubo" Keiichi answered "I know he got assassinated in the 11th year of Meiji – should be interesting"

"To _you_ maybe" Tomoji grumbled. Keiichi ignored him.

"And you?"

Shinya hesitated for a moment. What would they say once he told them he got the Legendary Hitokiri to research? Even those who knew almost nothing about history knew the legends of the Battosai. However, everyone was looking at him expectantly. With a deep breath he said in a voice barely above a whisper "Hitokiri Battosai"

It was almost as bad as he expected.

"Awww, why'd you have to get Battosai? The best one!" Tomoji pouted.

"It'll do you some good to find something out for yourself" Keiichi snapped "instead of getting us or someone else to do it for you!"

"Still, it would be even more interesting to figure out the mysteries behind someone like him than Katsura" Yukie said, squeezing his arm "lucky"

"Yeah" Shinya rubbed at his temples, feeling a headache coming on "guess that's what I am…" Kami; he wasn't feeling all that lucky just then.

After a few more minutes they came to a fork in the road. Keiichi and Tomoji waved goodbye to Shinya and Yukie and took the right fork back towards the city, while Shinya and Yukie took the left one. The houses became fewer and the greenery thickened between the traditional styled buildings. Birds twittered in the treetops and the lack of arguments and sound from the cars soothed Shinya's forming headache. They walked slowly, in no hurry to part each other's company or rush to their own chaotic home lives. However comfortable they were together, the moment didn't last and Yukie's house came into sight.

Yukie slowly unlinked arms with him and stared hard into his face. "You get some rest now and get better. It's your birthday soon and I don't want you to be ill on your birthday, got that? And maybe I'll visit you before then, just for the hell of it, and we can do our projects together, see if they sound okay, ne Shinya?"

"Sure!" he needed something about this project to look forward to. "See you later, then!"

"See you later, Shinya." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before going into the house. Shinya grinned and set off for his own home.

To be continued…

A.N. So, how was my first chapter? Good, bad? Review and give me you opinions.

So, now you've met my main Character, Himura Shinya. Now before you say anything, this isn't a reincarnation fic or anything, but I had to find a way to get Shinya connected to the Kenshin Gumi, so the easiest thing to do was for him to have to study Battosai. Don't worry, this does have some purpose to the story. I'm sorry if any readers prefer fics that start with the RuroKen characters at the start, but I promise, they'll make their appearance soon.

Next time on 'Fading Futures'

Shinya starts on his project to find out about the Battosai, but discovers something astounding in the process. What is it? Find out on the next chapter of Fading Futures: '_Tales of the Battosai'_

Mata Aimasho, Minna! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx 


	2. Chapter 2

A.N. Welcome back, Minna-san, to my second chapter in the world of '_Fading Futures'. _I want to thank everyone who read my first chapter and is now giving this one a go, so arigato gozaimasu! Hope you like my next chapter!

Last time on _Fading Futures_:

School boy Shinya Himura has been given an assignment to study the Battosai, but doesn't realise how connected he is to the legendary Hitokiri.

Disclaimer: Sessha unfortunately doesn't own Rurouni Kenshin (Waaaaaaaaaa), but she does own this story! .-

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Two Tales of the Battosai 

The house where the Himura family lived was built in the traditional Japanese style over 140 years ago, before the start of the Bakumatsu, when Tokyo was still named Edo, though now it was fitted with a modern plumbing and electrical systems. Next to the old house was another, slightly larger building – the Kendo dojo that belonged to Shinya's grandfather, Kiyoshi Himura. This dojo had once belonged to Koshijiro Kamiya, the founder of a Kenjutsu style known as the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, based on the ethics of 'Katsujin-ken' – the sword that protects – a style that was one of the basis for the kendo style which was now taught by Kiyoshi Himura.

Shinya walked past the large hill, where a large sakura tree stood, swaying tranquilly in the warm spring breeze, and opened the gates of the dojo. He crossed the garden, where the spring flowers were blooming and a small water feature trickled and murmured in the background. Lying on the porch was an old greyhound that raised its head and wagged its tail as Shinya approached. Shinya grinned and bent down to scratch it's furry head before slipping off his shoes and stepping onto the porch, sliding open the door.

"Mom! Grandpa! I'm home!" Shinya called.

Silence.

Shinya frowned slightly. _Strange,_ he thought _usually there was someone in at this time. And the gate wasn't locked, so that must mean that they are in somewh- _

Shinya froze as he felt a flash of Ki and turned just in time to see a Shinai hurtling towards him.

"ORO!"

With a loud cry, Shinya dived to the floor, just as the Shinai buried itself in the doorframe; exactly where Shinya's head had been only seconds earlier.

"Well Shin-kun, I have to admit, you are getting much better at reading Ki than I expected you to." Said a strong gruff voice. Rubbing his head, Shinya sat up to find his grandfather standing in the doorway to the kitchen where he had just thrown the Shinai now impaling the wall. "You are also getting faster. Perhaps that marshal arts training you do is actually paying off"

"Father in law!" cried a female voice in horror and exasperation. Another figure appeared in the kitchen doorway. She had longish jet-black hair, like Shinya's, that was tied up into a neat bun. She wore a dark blue kimono and a baby blue apron, her hands on her hips, her dark eyes blazing. Shinya sweat dropped –Noriko Himura could have given Battosai a run for his money just then. "You could have had his eye out with that stupid stunt! I don't care if you're my Husband's father! I won't have you throwing missiles in the house!"

Kiyoshi, though taller than Noriko by a head, cowered in the face of her righteous anger on her son's behalf. Even Shinya, who knew it wasn't directed at him, winced slightly, though that could have been because his head was starting to hurt where he had struck it in his haste to avoid the flying Shinai.

"I don't know why you're complaining, Noriko. When I was a boy, and my father was training me, he did the same to me, as I did with Nobuyuki when he was a boy, and what he would have done to Shin-kun – if he hadn't gone gallivanting off to become an archaeologist."

"Yeah? Well, at least Nobu-chan had more sense than his old man then!"

Finally Noriko calmed down long enough to see that Shinya wasn't hurt too badly and was now back on his feet, wrestling the Shinai out from the door frame. "Welcome home, Shin-chan. So, how was your last day of school?" she asked with a smile, as if the incident had never happened.

Shinya flashed her a small smile and, finally freeing the Shinai from where it was imbedded and throwing it to his grandfather, said "It wasn't too bad. We played football in PE and did some interesting pictures in art. We finished the Tokugawa government in history, and Miyoshi-sensei told us we start on the Meiji restoration and the Bakumatsu next term. He gave us some homework to do though. We've gotta research a famous person from the Bakumatsu – we were given a name to look up. I was going to start it now, you know, to get it out of the way." He turned to Kiyoshi nervously "is it…okay if I don't have practice tonight – I'll make it up to you double, tomorrow, sensei." He added, seeing Kiyoshi's glare. _Oh Kami, I'm in for it now…_

"You know that you have to practice Kendo every day!" cried Kiyoshi, as if it was a crime to ask for a night off. "Besides, you've got the whole of the holidays to do that!"

"Father in law…" Noriko growled dangerously, "It's a wonder that Nobu-chan got to where he is today if that's how you view education!"

Shinya rolled his eyes at the arguing pair and, taking his Grandfather's answer as a definite 'No', made his way towards his bedroom, but paused when he heard Kiyoshi call his name. He glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah, Grandpa?" he was surprised to see the old man look slightly worried.

"Who is this person from the Bakumatsu that you have to study?"

Shinya was even more confused by this. "Hitokiri Battosai", he answered.

Clack! Kiyoshi dropped the Shinai, which rolled across the floor, his violet eyes were as wide as plates. Noriko looked stunned and Shinya gaped at their reaction. No one said anything, all shocked into silence. The silence continued…

At length, Kiyoshi began to mutter under his breath. "Guess it's about time he found out the truth. Knew he'd have to find out one day…"

Concerned, Shinya stepped forward. "G-grandpa? You okay?"

"Yes, Yes, I'm alright." He answered breathlessly "well, I guess you can have tonight off to do your…research. But you have to do double the training tomorrow!"

"Really? Thanks!" _Kami, that's strange_ he thought, giving the retreating figure of his grandfather a slightly worried glance. _I wonder what's got into him…_ Slowly he shook himself out of his paralysis and continued down the hall to his room, telling himself he must have imagined it. Carefully, he slid aside the door and stepped into his room.

Shinya's room was quite a small bedroom, but it was quite cosy all the same. In one corner his futon was folded up neatly, his quilt and pillow neatly stacked on top. A desk stood next to the window with a laptop resting on it next to a stack of books and Manga comics. A wardrobe and set of draws stood at the other side of his room with a lamp standing next to a slightly messed up pile of DVDs, and a katana and wakazashi were resting in a stand. On the wall by which Shinya slept were a few small posters and a Shinai was propped up in the corner. It would have been a spotless room if it weren't for the clothes that lay scattered across the floor from his rush to find his uniform that morning.

Dumping his school bag by his futon, Shinya gathered up his clothes and neatly folded them back into his draws. That done, he sat on the swivel chair by his laptop and switched on the power. Once it had loaded, Shinya logged onto the Internet and typed _Hitokiri Battosai_ into the search engine. After a few seconds it brought up a small list of sites where the name had appeared. He clicked onto the first of the list and read what came up.

Shinya grumbled slightly as he read the usual legend of Battosai. No good. He tried the second web site to see if that came up with anything better. If anything it was worse than the first site he went to. He continued down the list of sites, trying each one out, but getting nowhere fast. After an hour of trying, Shinya sat back in his chair and glared at the computer screen, avoiding the temptation to toss the stupid thing out the window.

Noriko knocked on the door and slid it open. She was holding a trey on which sat some onigiri and a glass of orange juice. She froze for a second at Shinya's amber eyes glaring at the computer, but told herself she was being silly. "Here you go, Shin-chan." Shinya's eyes faded to their warm amethyst and he smiled softly as her as he look the trey from her hands.

"Thanks, Mom." He said calmly.

Noriko sat down on the floor and looked up at her son as he happily began to eat with his usual, slightly vacant, smile on his face. After he chewed a mouthful or so, he swallowed and glanced down at her.

"It's great!"

Noriko laughed and glanced at the computer screen. She could see why he had been frustrated. There was nothing on there, she knew, that Shinya didn't already know. "Work going badly?"

Shinya's eyes flashed, but his expression didn't change. Just like him to do something like that, so he wouldn't annoy or upset anyone. "Sort of." He admitted, "the stuff on the Internet is what everyone knows from the legends anyway. Nothing new."

"Hn, well, your Grandfather told me you might have some trouble finding something on him. He gave me something you might find interesting" she pulled a large, old looking book from her apron pocket and handed it to Shinya. He took it from her, testing its weight and glanced at the title. _History of the Himura family._

"Oro? But, I'm looking for Battosai. Why –"

It belonged to your Father." Noriko told him. Seeing his confused expression, Noriko continued "in the book is everyone from the Himura family from all the way back to the Bakumatsu era." Carefully, so as not to tear the flimsy paper, she began to flick through the pages. "Your Grandfather thinks that it might help you because…"

Shinya gasped "You mean that I'm related to Battosai!"

Noriko stopped flicking through the pages and passed the book back to Shinya. He took it with slightly shaking hands and looked at the open page. The pages were yellowed with age and almost see through. On the left hand side of the page was a small, rectangular, black-and-white photograph of a man with a fine-featured face, his expression serene, framed with long light coloured hair, tide back into a low ponytail. He wore what looked like the traditional styled gi and hakama of a samurai, and at his side was what looked like a sheathed katana. Though the photo was black-and-white, it was obvious that this man's hair was lighter than most Japanese. Shinya guessed his hair was red, as many in his family had been. Something on his right cheek caught his eye – a strange looking scar, shaped just like a cross…

"This…is Battosai?" Shinya whispered.

Noriko nodded gravely "Yes. Kiyoshi knew you would have to find out at some point…" slowly she stood up and left the room. Shinya's eyes wandered back to the picture again. So, this was the man legend has it slayed thousands of men to bring about the Meiji era, the man who people praised as the strongest warrior in history. But looking into his face, he saw not the eyes of a killer, but they eyes of a man who carried an age of sadness, of suffering in those eyes. He realised with a jolt that there was so much more to this man than people thought. His eyes wandered to the words next to him. The writing was starting to fade, but Shinya's keen eyes could still make out what was written there:

**Kenshin Himura**

**1851 -?**

Better known as the Hitokiri Battosai during the Bakumatsu period, Kenshin Himura was thought to be a master of an ancient Sengoku kenjutsu style known as the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. He gained the nickname 'Battosai' for his killing technique of Battojitsu (also known as the 'Iaido' or 'Nuki' technique) – a name which translates to 'One who has learned everything of Battojitsu'. During this period,Kenshin served the Ishin Shishi for five years to create a better world where the weak were not exploited. For the first half of his carrier, Kenshin acted as the Choshu clan's hitokiri under the command of Katsura Kogoro. But after a tragic incident, Kenshin became a free swordsman in the latter half of his carrier, protecting his comrades from the government's killers, the Shinsengumi. Because of Kenshin's amazing abilities he was feared and thought of as a god.

Though descriptions of him varied from legend to legend as it became more and more exaggerated, each one agreed that he had red hair and a scar, shaped like a cross on his right cheek. Though the exact origin of the scar is now unknown, it was thought to have occurred during two incidents. In the deciding battle of the Boshin war, after victory in the first battle at Toba Fushimi, he disappeared from all government records for a period of ten years. During this period it was said that Kenshin became a Rurouni and wandered over Japan with a special sword designed so it could not kill anyone to protect innocent people and help to redeem lives to atone for the lives he had taken during the Bakumatsu. However, he later appeared in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji, where he aided the Kamiya dojo against the scandal of a fake Battosai. There he was invited to live at the dojo with the assistant manager, Kamiya Kaoru. He later married her and they had a son, Himura Kenji. It was unknown however when he died, though it was thought to have been caused from an illness that later took the life of his Wife also, though this is unconfirmed.

Shinya glanced back at the picture once more. So it was true, there was so much more to this warrior than everyone believed. However, far from answering his questions about the life of the man in the photo, he had so many more. What did he do during the time that he went missing from all records? When did he die? Was it truly of an illness that killed both him and his wife? What was the 'tragic incident' that had been mentioned. Was it that which gave him the deep sadness in his eyes? Shinya smiled slightly. So, he was right. This man had not been the cold-blooded killer that legends made him out to be.

Kiyoshi stepped into the room to see Shinya sitting calmly on the chair looking at the page, a small smile of almost… understanding on his fine-featured face. Shinya glanced up at his Grandfather.

"You're right", he said softly, "it was interesting, to read a little more about him" Kiyoshi looked for signs of trouble on his grandson's face, but found none. He smiled slightly. Shinya was a very different person to all the others of his age. Perhaps he understood where others had failed to understand about Kenshin Himura.

"You took the news better than your father." He said warmly "Nobuyuki was much more difficult"

Shinya glanced at the page again "with something like this, you can't take just legends into account. Sometimes there is much more to a person than what we are told in hearsay. Besides, someone like him, with that much sadness and regret… it doesn't match with the man in the stories. But then, real life differs from legend."

The depth of wisdom he heard just then coming from this young boy's mouth surprised Kiyoshi.

"Besides" Shinya continued, a small smile on his face "what happened then, all those years ago, it may have been why I was born, but that is all. What happened then doesn't make who I am now. Only I can make who I will become"

Kiyoshi smiled "you just got right what takes some people, even myself years to discover. I'm proud of you"

Shinya took out a pad from his bag and began to write ideas for his project down, his face flushed from the praise. He paused and looked back at his grandfather's retreating back. "Thank you, Grandpa, for showing me"

Kiyoshi looked back and smiled softly "You're welcome"

Still, Shinya thought as he turned back to his work, it was pretty cool to know he was descended from such a famous fighter, even one as mysterious as Kenshin Himura, the 'Battosai'.

To be continued…

Chosha's notes: So, Shinya discovers his ancestry – told you I was going somewhere with the whole assignment thing. Okay how was my second chapter of this fic? Good, bad? Review and give me you opinions.

Next time on 'Fading Futures'

Strange things are beginning to happen in the Himura household and Shinya gets a visit from the last person you would expect. Who is it? Find out on the next chapter of Fading Futures: '_Fading Out'_

Mata Aimasho, Minna-san! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx 


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. Welcome back, Minna, to my third chapter of '_Fading Futures'. _I want to thank everyone who read my fic so far and is now giving this Chapter a go, so arigato gozaimasu! Also a special thanks to Bethy-kun and Hitokiri Taijiya for reviewing. You've both been really supportive. I hope the rest of Shinya's adventures live up to you expectations! And you're making the Kenshin Gumi really happy too, because they aren't getting paid for this, but then, neither am I! Hope you like my next chapter!

Disclaimer: as already said, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, no matter how much I cry about it (sob)! But I do own this story, so ha!

Last time on _Fading Futures:_

Shinya Himura discovers that he is actually the descendent of the Hitokiri Battosai, Kenshin Himura, but he's still got a lot of questions unanswered…

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Three

Fading out

Shinya grumbled as the sunlight shone straight into his eyes. With a few choice words at the sun's inconsiderateness, Shinya yanked his blankets over his head and turned over to go back to sleep. He immediately felt the sharp prodding of a finger in his side.

"Shinya, you have to get up _now_!" he heard his grandfather bark "you have double the practice to do today and those strokes aren't going to do themselves!"

"Can't I do 'em in an hour? Why've I gotta do 'em now…?" Oh Kami, he felt worse than he did yesterday. He wasn't even sure that his head was his own it felt so foggy. But, as usual, Kiyoshi wasn't the most tender of people either and threw the covers from him.

"No excuses! I want you ready and in the dojo in 15 minutes"

"Yes, Sensei…"

So much for holidays. Kiyoshi was worse than a Sargent in the army. He would probably get more of a lie-in in a boot camp! Shinya pulled himself to his feet and immediately had to grip the wall to stop himself from falling straight over again. His head spun, as if he had stood up too fast and he felt faint all of a sudden. He screwed up his eyes against the wave of sickness that washed over him. Then, just as suddenly as it came, all of it – the dizziness, the faintness, the sickness – went, just like that. Shinya took several deep breaths. Kami, that couldn't be good. He had never, as far as he remembered felt like that before, as if he wasn't all there…

He shook himself mentally. Maybe it was just that he _had _stood up too fast, so along with low blood pressure in the mornings he felt twice as strange as he normally would have felt. Same old, same old, right?

Carefully, he let go of the wall and slowly moved off his futon, but the strange feeling didn't come again. Thus fortified, Shinya folded up his quilt and futon, stacking them neatly in a pile once more and began to change into his training clothes. Grabbing his Shinai from the top of his set of draws, and his mask and gloves from in the wardrobe, Shinya slid open his bedroom door and strode out into the hall. He went into the kitchen, where Noriko stood by the cooker, waiting for the toast to pop up out of the toaster. Hearing Shinya enter the room, she turned and smiled at him.

"My, you're up early, Shin-chan. I thought you were on holiday now?"

"Grandpa woke me up to do that 'double training' I said I would do yesterday. I didn't mean at 7 in the morning! I might as well be in school!" he laughed at his predicament. "I have to be in the dojo in about five minutes. You don't think…"

Just then, the toast popped up. Noriko smiled and buttered it quickly, passing it to Shinya. The boy grinned. "Ta, Mom! You're a lifesaver. See you in a minute!" he picked up his Shinai and popped the toast into his mouth.

"Oh, before I forget, I won't be back until a little later today"

Shinya swallowed the mouthful of toast. "Why?"

"I just have a busy day coming up, there's the Sugisaki family coming for a large flower arrangement for a wedding and lots of others coming in to collect today. It's also my turn to clean up the shop, too, so I might be a little late. I should be home by about 6 tonight, okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you later then" _if Grandpa-sensei doesn't kill me first_.

Shinya ran round to the dojo, past the old dog, which looked rather disappointed that Shinya didn't have the time to stroke it, and thrust open the door.

Kiyoshi stood waiting for him in the centre of the dojo, his white hair tide back in a high ponytail, his Shinai in his hand and a stern expression on his face. Shinya, getting his breath under control, smile brightly, but it faded a little when he saw his grandfather didn't return it.

"You're late"

"Oro? S-sorry, Sensei"

"I want you to do 1000 strokes, then we can practice". Shinya choked. A thousand! And then _practice_!

"B-but, sensei –"

"No buts! The faster you do them, the faster we can get around to practice, and then you can do whatever you want. I trust you can do them without my watching. I will come back in twenty minutes to see how you are getting on." Kiyoshi turned and strode towards the door "I have to have a tablet for my head, it's killing me" as he walked passed Shinya, he could have sworn Kiyoshi faded in and out of focus a little, shimmered like a summer mirage. Shinya blinked and stared. Shimmered? Had it just been a trick of light? But by the time he had rubbed his eyes and looked back at his grandfather, he was gone. Shinya frowned slightly. Kiyoshi was acting a lot stranger than normal. He pondered over this as he took up the stance of Seigan and began his downward strokes.

One, Two, Three, Four…

_What's going on today?_

Seven, Eight, Nine…

_First I feel weird, and then grandpa acts strangely, then shimmers? _

Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen_… _

_Why do I such a bad feeling about today…?_

Shinya groaned as he finally finished his 1000 strokes and sat down to massage his arms in attempts to get the feeling back into them. Never before had he ever thought arms could literally just drop off from too much exercise. Now he was sure that it could, the way his arms and shoulders felt just then, or didn't feel, as was the case. As he rubbed his arms, he glanced at the cloak on the wall. 7:45. Shinya froze. Hadn't Kiyoshi told him that he would check in on him in twenty minutes when he started those strokes at a little bit past seven? Slightly worried, Shinya rose from the floor and padded over to the door. With an effort – his arms were still sore – he slid it open. Sunlight flooded the room, making him squint slightly from its brightness. Once his eyes had got used to the light, he scanned the garden for any sign of his grandfather.

The garden was peaceful and serene, as it usually was at this time in the morning. The flowers were swaying slightly in the breeze, which made the wind chimes tinkle softly from the front door of the house. Birds sang their songs and a bee hummed as it settled on a red carnation. Shinya strained his ears for any other sound of life, but even with his sensitive hearing, there were no other sounds of movement.

"Sensei? Grandpa… are you there?"

But no one answered.

Shinya propped his Shinai by the door and strode across the garden, his eyes scanning for any sign of movement. Reaching the house, he slid open the door and stepped inside. Even in here there was no movement. He stuck his head around the kitchen door, but no one was inside. On the fridge, however, there was a note pinned up by a magnet shaped like a statue of Anubis (Nobuyuki had brought it back from Egypt when he last visited). The note was addressed to him. He pulled the note from under the magnet and read it slowly.

Dear Shinya, (it read)

I have gone to the flower shop now. I have left you and your Sofu some sushi for lunch and I should be back by about six at the latest. See you later

Love you,

Mom.

P.S., be good for your Grandfather, okay?

Shinya screwed up the letter. Sure, _be good for your Grandfather_ she said. But where is he? Dumping the note in the bin, Shinya wandered around the house, calling for his grandfather. He wasn't in his room, the bathroom, or the dinning room. One last room to check now. Shinya was beginning to really worry now. People don't just disappear into thin air. It was humanly impossible…

Wasn't it?

Shinya pushed that strange thought out of his head and pushed open the fushuma. The living room had a wide screen TV in one corner and a few cushions scattered around a quite long, low table, which stood in the middle of the room on the Tatami flooring. On the table was a tea cup, still half full of lukewarm liquid. On the fireplace were several small frames with family photographs in them. Shinya glanced at them. There was a picture of him when he was about six, playing shogi with his grandfather and (by the looks of things) was on a winning streak. Another showed his mother and her sister, one whom Shinya had only met a few times in his life, stood posing in beautiful wedding Kimono, both looking radiant. Another one showed a family photo that had been taken in Egypt when they went to visit Nobuyuki in Cairo. All dressed in shorts and t-shirts, Kiyoshi stood behind his daughter in law, while Shinya, at ten, stood smiling happily between his mother and a red haired man with blue eyes and sunglasses whom beamed at the camera.

Shinya smiled slightly as he looked at the photograph, his father beaming up at him. Only four years ago the photograph was taken, he had only seen his father five times. Oh, sure he phoned every now and again as sent postcards and letters, but it wasn't the same thing. Some people even thought Shinya's father was dead! It sometimes made him laugh when he showed them a letter from only a day or two earlier.

The last photo was of the family dog, Hoshi, looking up at the camera with big, liquid-brown eyes. Suddenly, a thought hit him. _Where was Hoshi?_

Perhaps, in his worry for his grandfather he hadn't noticed the old dog sitting on the porch, but now he thought about it… Perhaps Kiyoshi had just gone to take Hoshi for a walk, and would be home soon. Shinya sighed and flopped on one of the cushions in relief.

After a little while, Shinya got himself up to wait for Kiyoshi back in the dojo. Knowing his luck, the way it was going at the moment, he would likely find himself doing 1000 more strokes. He thought he would _have _a stroke if he had to do any more just then!

As he headed for the door, that strange feeling swept over him again and he made a grab for the mantle piece for support. However, he missed and along with some of the photographs fell to the floor. Gasping for air, Shinya clasped his head, as if it was about to disappear from his shoulders and groaned in agony. Just as fast as it came, it went again and he collapsed, breathing deeply as if he had just run a marathon. It had been longer than the one that morning, and that defiantly wasn't due to standing up too fast. Slowly, he opened his eyes again and sat up, mentally probing for signs of it coming on once more. What was wrong with him? Something caught his eye. Carefully he looked down at the photos now scattered in from of him from his fall. One of the frames had smashed.

"AH! Mom'll kill me for this, even if…" but what _was_ wrong with him? With a shaky hand Shinya picked up the photograph and looked at it again. A large crack ran through the centre of the glass. Suddenly his breath caught in his throat. The people in the photo were gone!

Shinya half threw down the frame and bolted for the door. He didn't stop running until he reached the garden, where he stood, shaking. Perhaps he was losing it. What if he wasn't? What's going on? Why was this happening –?

_SHUT UP!_ He screamed mentally. The shock sent those panicked voices running. Slowly he sat on the porch and ran his hand through his hair. _Think now_, the more logical part of him said calmly, _there must be a good reason that this is happening. Now, without panicking, think through the options_.

_It could he a dream_, he rationalised. _If it is a dream, all you have to do is wake up. They say if you pinch yourself in a dream, it doesn't hurt, and you wake up. If it does hurt, then…_

Slowly, Shinya raised a hand and pinched himself hard on the arm. A sharp pain shot through it. "Yow!" he yelped. Quickly, he began to rub at the pain. He groaned slightly. _So much for the dream idea…_ he grumbled at his more rational side.

"I'm afraid it is not a dream, Shinya Himura, however much you may hope it was"

Shinya jumped violently and stared at the young woman who had just appeared seemingly from nowhere. She looked about 18 years of age with long violet-black hair and dark, dark eyes. She was taller than he was (which didn't take all that much) by a head and she wore an old fashioned white and blue outfit, tied by a rather fine looking red obi. As she walked toward him, her feet barely seemed to touch the ground. Shinya couldn't help but stare. Not only was she beautiful, but she had somehow sneaked up on him. He couldn't read her Ki!

"What…do you mean?"

She walked to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Shinya gasped and flinched. Her hand was cold as ice, which flooded through him through the material of his training gi.

"Just what I said. Your family, your history, it is all vanishing. I was afraid I had come too late to stop you from vanishing too, but it seems Kenshin's strength is in you too."

"Kenshin...What? You're not making much sense, Miss."

"What I am about to tell you," the young woman said softly, like a breath of wind "is what has happened to your family. Everyone from your family, back until the Meiji period is vanishing from history. Something is happening in the past that wasn't meant to happen and is effecting the whole of the Himura family. You are the only one not to have vanished yet. I have come here to ask you to help me put history back on course."

"Oro!" Shinya stared at the woman as if she was insane. "Look, Miss, no offence but… well… the past is passed. Things don't just change for the heck of it."

"If only that were true…"

Great, as if that morning could get any worse, but now he had some crack pot woman who believes the past randomly up and changed. Shinya groaned.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I'm afraid that you might just be a little… well… not right. Goodbye." He stood up and began to go back into the house again when:

"Tell me, have you been experiencing times when you feel ill, sick, disorientated… as if you are not there, as if you could vanish at any time? Have you seen any family member shimmer, as if he was about to fade away? Have any photographs of you or your family turned blank…?" Shinya choked as his breath caught in his throat, his eyes wide, his body paralysed, shaking violently. _How did she…?_ He spun round to find the woman looking at him intently.

"Who are you?" he growled quietly.

" I am the Ghost of Tomoe Yukashima," she said softly " the guardian of your family"

"Ghost? Guardian…? What do you me-?" suddenly the feeling swept over him again, more violent than those he had before. He cried out and dropped to his knees, clutching his head. He felt as if he was about to fly apart, every inch of him burned. He howled and hugged himself, tears streamed down his cheeks as he desperately searched for relief, but none came. Hands griped him unexpectedly and he felt something cool pressed against his face. Instantly the pain vanished and Shinya collapsed into the ice-cold arms of the woman Tomoe. Breathing heavily, he opened his eyes to find a strange looking object pressed lightly against his skin. With a shaking hand, Shinya took the object to get a better look.

It was a strange, oval object, a small sapphire. Written in golden text around the middle of the oval were strange markings in runes he could not recognise at all. . As he looked at it, the object almost seemed to glow and eerie light.

"It's a talisman" Tomoe said softly "it will help stop your body being effected by the changes in history. It temporally creates a barrier around yourself to stop you from vanishing"

Shinya looked up at her "I nearly… vanished?" Tomoe nodded silently

"I'm afraid that the talisman will not last for long, perhaps only half a year, then you too will vanish."

"And I can't do anything about it, right?" he whispered

"There is something you can do. The source of the trouble comes from the 12th year in Meiji. Something during this time has happened to your ancestors –Kenshin Himura and Kaoru Kamiya – that prevents them from being together, which in turn puts an end to the Himura family. If someone can go back in time, bring them together and prevent the event which is changing the course of history, then your family will be saved"

"And are you saying that I can do this? Stop me, everyone, from fading away?"

"Yes"

_This is insane!_ He thought miserably, _but she was right about everything today. What if she is telling the truth, and I will vanish?_ He stared at his hands and at the talisman, which he absently rubbed with his thumb. Just before the pain took him, he had seen it, his hands fading away, he saw through his now solid hands! No ki, but he could felt the sincerity of the woman before him, the spirit of Tomoe. If she was telling the truth, and he was the only one who could bring them back, his family…

"Tell me…what to do…"

To be continued…

Chosha's notes: Oooh, things are getting interesting for Shinya, Huh! Half a year to save his family from fading away! And he might have to play the matchmaker too! Okay how was my third chapter of this fic? Good, bad? Review and give me you opinions.

Also, I apologise for if Tomoe's ghost was OOC, but you could put that down to the fact that she is _dead_ an all. Also, if I spelt her surname wrong, Gomennasai!

Next time on 'Fading Futures'

Tomoe sends Shinya back in time to the Meiji era to find his ancestors Kenshin and Kaoru, but not everything goes according to plan. What happens? Find out on the next chapter of Fading Futures: '_into the past'_

Mata Aimasho, Minna! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	4. Chapter 4

A.N. Welcome back, Minna, to my Fourth chapter of '_Fading Futures'_, now things are getting interestingI want to thank everyone who read my fic so far and is now giving this chapter a go too, so arigato gozaimasu! Also thanks again to Beth-Kun and Hitokiri Taijiya for your comments. You're helping me and my muses out big time! Thanks to Kobakawa Reisha as well for telling me the spelling error of Tomoe's surname. Sessha is sooooo sorry! I'll spell it properly from now on. Your review's are giving us motivation to get better and better, so give yourselves a big pat on the back too! Hope you like my next chapter!

Disclaimer: still not mine…(sigh)… But Shinya and this story are!

Last time on _Fading Futures_:

Shinya was visited by the ghost of Tomoe, who tells him that only he can stop the change in the flow of time and save his family from vanishing!

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Four

Into the Past

A loud speaker somewhere down the train crackled as it came to life. "Next stop, Odawara"

Shinya sighed and glanced at the young woman beside him. After the initial shock of being told that he was in the presence of a ghost who died during the Bakumatsu who had once known his ancestor –Kenshin Himura – and the shock that she was going to send him back in time to the 12th year of Meiji, Shinya's more reasonable state of mind took over once more. Calmly, he thought over the basics of how he would save his family, which Tomoe Yukishiro had explained to him.

"The talisman" She had said "will last only around half a year or so. After that its power will begin to lessen until the shield itself vanishes, so you have little time. I can get you back to February 1st of the 12th year of Meiji, but after that it will be all up to you to make sure nothing happens to your ancestors and that they stay together. If you can't stop the problem from occurring, I'm afraid that not even your friends will remember who or what you were, because you would never have been born…"

Shinya turned his head and gazed out of the window, watching as fields and houses flashed by and touched the smooth talisman that now hung around his neck on a thin black cord. So Keiichi, Tomoji, even Yukie – no one would remember who he was if he didn't fix the past. And if he failed, it wouldn't be like he would be able to start a new life either, because he would cease to exist. He would fade away into nothingness.

"…If you fix the past by Shunbun no hi, I will be able to bring you back to your own time, a day or so after the time you left for the past…"

But if he failed, Tomoe wouldn't have to do anything at all, because there would be no Shinya to bring home… Shinya sighed softly.

"Are you alright, Shinya?" Tomoe asked quietly.

He glanced at Tomoe from under his bangs again. No one else had noticed Tomoe since they had left the Himura household for Tokyo train station. Tomoe had explained that only certain people who needed to see her would be able to see her at all. He looked back at the window again and whispered, so everyone else on the train wouldn't hear him and think him mad "I'm fine, 'part from the fact I'm still half convinced it's a dream, or I've gone nuts." He smiled softly "I don't know if you know, Tomoe-san, but most people don't get visited by ghosts, or start vanishing into thin air"

Tomoe watched the boy sadly, at the expression in his eyes of worry and confusion, despite his smile – _just what Kenshin after he became rurouni_, she noted. "You took it better than I expected you to. Akira-kun told me you would probably be more… panicked"

"Akira?"

Tomoe looked away from him. "He was my fiancée, before I met Kenshin. He was killed, during the Bakumatsu."

Shinya hesitated, before lowering his eyes "I'm sorry…"

She looked surprised for a moment before she smiled at him. "Its alright, we're together now, when I'm not physically helping your family."

The train began to slow down as the loud speaker crackled into life once more.

"This stop, Odawara. Will passengers collect their belongings and make their way towards the doors."

"This is it, Shinya"

Shinya grabbed his bag and followed the crowd towards the exit. As soon as he was free of the crowds, Tomoe took his hand and led him through the station and out into the busy street. As they made their way past shopping malls, restaurants and a bike hire shop, Shinya had to jog to keep up with the speed of Tomoe's walk while avoiding being jostled by the busy people rushing about. Soon the outskirts of town came into sight, the houses becoming fewer and fewer until there were none to be seen through the dense forest. Even the path they followed was so overgrown it was barely visible.

"Where… are we… going?" Shinya panted as he was pulled further and further away from civilisation.

"To a shrine"

"A shrine?" now he was really confused.

"Its not just any shrine" she said, "This shrine was built next to a place where the flow of time is very fragile. Though the people who made the shrine over 3000 years ago didn't know its full importance, they could sense that it was sacred ground and built the shrine to protect it. Its derelict now, no one even knows it exists – the last man who was the priest here, I believe, died about 100 years ago. Ah, here we are."

Shinya pushed aside the branches of a fallen tree and peeped through the gap. The 'shrine' as she had called it was a run down, desolate looking place that was a mere shadow of its former glory. If the path had been overgrown, this building was much worse. The walls were covered in vines that covered the entrance and up the roof, choking the once beautiful structure. The tiles of the roof were smothered in moss, fallen leaves and dust. Bells hung by the entrance as well, but they were so rusted that they no longer tinkled like wind chimes as they once did when the shrine was in use, but only made a dull 'clunk' as the wind bustled through the trees. A little stone bowl by the fushuma, which people would have washed their hands in before entering stood empty, dry as bone. Even the birds avoided the place. It was a saddening sight.

Shinya stepped over the fallen tree and moved towards the old shrine, but it didn't look much better up close. As he stepped forward over the carpet of leaves he paused and glanced over at a strange looking well that stood a little way off from the building itself. It came up to his waist in height and two wooden boards covered the top. Around the sides of the little wall were strange drawings of dragons and other mythical creatures – like Hieroglyphics on a Pharaoh's tomb. Tomoe glided past Shinya and stood by the well, watching him as he looked on in awe. Carefully, she laid a pale hand on its wall.

"This" she breathed "is the entrance to the thinnest part between the time boundary. It was once thought to have powerful properties for keeping a person young, and has been thought to cure some sickness and diseases. The well was considered blessed by Kami himself, as it also holds the secret to travelling to the past."

Shinya grinned as he thought about Kagome in his manga comics' back home. In the series of 'Inuyasha', Kagome had used a well to travel back in time to help the half- dog-demon to find jewel shards.

"I thought we were going to see Kenshin-san and Kaoru-san in Meiji, not going to feudal times to see Inuyasha." He joked.

"Who?" Tomoe asked, confused.

"Never mind" he sighed.

"Help me uncover the well" Shinya jogged to Tomoe's side and began to lift the rotten planks from the mouth of the well. With an effort he prised it off and eased it gently to the floor. Nervously, not sure what to expect he glanced inside.

"Its empty!"

Tomoe nodded. "It's been empty of water for some time now. But, for our purpose, it's turned out to be a good thing."

Slowly, she reached behind her red obi and pulled out another gem, this time bright amber one marked with silver rather than the gold runes of his sapphire talisman. It glowed softly as she held it out to Shinya. Unsure what to do, he gave Tomoe a confused stare. With a small smile, Tomoe took Shinya's hand and placed the crystal on his palm, where it glowed more violently than before.

"This is a special crystal given only to those who serve as guardians. That is what will break the time barrier and allow you through to the Meiji period. Throw it in the well."

"Oro? Um… if you say so." Shinya glanced down at the dark hole and, with one last look at the shinning crystal let it drop into the well. It plunged until the light was little more than a speck in the darkness. He strained his ears to make out any sound if it hit the bottom, but he heard nothing.

_Just how deep _is _this well anyway!_ He wondered as he leaned forwards to look in the well once more. Suddenly, he heard a rumble, deep in the well and he spotted a puddle of light at the bottom. It exploded and the light rushed to the surface. With a cry, Shinya flung himself out of the way. A pillar of rainbow light shot like fire into the air with a whoosh, exactly where his head once was. So bright was it that Shinya was blinded and had to cover his eyes with a hand. All of a sudden it was gone leaving him blind for a few seconds.

Nervously, Shinya edged towards the well and peered inside once more.

"Oro!" he gasped. The well, which had previously been empty of any water, was now full to the brim with a strange, silvery liquid that flashed all the colours of the spectrum as the suns rays filtered through the leafy canopy. "Kami! Tomoe-san, what IS that?"

"That is the way to the past of February 1st in the 12th year of Meiji. To go back in time, all you have to do is jump in, and it will take you to this shrine in 1879."

"Down the well, huh? I'll tell Kagome you said 'Hi', ne?"

Ignoring Tomoe's confused look; Shinya stepped onto the edge of the wall, slinging his bag over his shoulder, and glanced back at her. "So, any rules I gotta follow, while I'm in the past?"

"Yes. Unless you feel you must, don't reveal you're Kenshin and Kaoru-san's descendent to anyone. It's best that you don't say your last name is 'Himura' as well, it is still linked with 'Hitokiri Battosai' in most cases. Also, you mustn't reveal anything about the future for them, or it could change the flow of time even more"

Shinya looked at her as if she was lunatic. "I know I'm convinced I'm mad anyway, but I'm not stupid enough to make _them_ think I'm nuts too!" he flashed her a small smile. "Wish me luck, ne?"

He glanced down at the well again and took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing." And screwing up his eyes, he jumped.

It was like being sucked down a giant plughole. As soon as his feet touched the silver liquid it almost bodily took hold of him and plunged him further and further into the silvery mass faster than any bullet train. It spun him faster and faster that it made him feel sick, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't breath to scream. He was choking on liquid silver, unable to see, being dragged further and further. He wasn't going to make it! He was going to drown! He was –

Suddenly his head broke the surface and he gasped lungfuls of precious air. The silver light was gone now and he realised he was treading water. Slightly panicked, Shinya spun round, searching for an exit, but all he could see were rocky walls. But he could see natural light coming from above. Glancing up he could see the sky, deep blue, with soft clouds like cotton wool floating slowly, some disappearing behind the green branches that arched high above the mouth of the well. He could hear birds twittering in the February sun.

Shinya glanced around for a way to pull himself out from the well. At first he couldn't see anything, but he caught sight of a thick rope with a small bucket attached to it. Reaching up he tugged at the rope until he was sure it would hold his weight. Satisfied, he took a firmer grip on the rope and began to haul himself out of the water. At an agonisingly slow pace, he managed to climb farther and farther upwards until he could clasp the well wall with his hands. Breathing deeply, he shouldered himself up the wall until his head and shoulders stuck above it, his legs dangling beneath him. As he gasped for air, he glanced round at his surroundings. His heart skipped a beat.

Instead of the run-down shack with its rusty bells, he could see a well tended beautiful shrine in a clearing of the forest that seemed, somehow, younger to Shinya. Birds twittered pleasantly in the branches. Along the way, he could see a small path that lead out towards the town of Odawara. It was cooler than it had felt when he jumped into the well.

"I did it…"he whispered, awe-struck, "I really did it… This is the Meiji era!"

Slowly, he realised how stupid it would look if someone saw him, bedraggled, hanging in the well. After all, the shrine in this period was still in use and would be for several decades yet. With a grunt, Shinya tossed his bag onto the grass and hauled himself out of the well, flopping onto the floor. After lying in a daze for what seemed like half an hour, Shinya elbowed himself upright and dragged his bag towards him to see what he could salvage, tipping it all onto the ground.

"Damn!" he growled. Apart from his brokken, which he had brought with him just in case (he had heard that the Meiji era was still dangerous, though thankfully not by Bakumatsu standards) and a few other things, everything was ruined. Grumbling he dumped the stuff back in the bag.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

Shinya's head snapped up and he clutched his brokken even tighter. The scream, a male voice, had come from not far away. Frozen, Shinya listened intently. The same voice cried out again.

"Why are you doing this? This is holy ground! Please, just leave this place-"

A cold voice cut him off with a cruel laugh "give us everything you have and we might just consider leaving this place in one piece!"

Horrified, Shinya heard the draw of a sword as it hissed to life. Before he knew what he was doing, he bolted towards the sound. As he rounded the corner of the shrine, he saw it – an old man with a balding head and wispy white hair dressed in a Priest's robes was lying on the floor, clutching an arm to his chest, which was covered in blood. Before him stood four men – obviously bandits – one of which held a bloody katana in front of him. Four of them, picking on an unarmed, defenceless old man! The injustice of it all made Shinya's blood boil.

"Stop it right now!" He yelled. Everyone turned round to look at him. One of the bandits' lips curled.

"Who the hell are you?" he snarled. "Some poor fool come to die with the old man?"

Shinya took the stance of mugyo and glared at the men coldly. "Who I am is not your concern. Why are you hurting this guy?"

The man in front with the katana laughed again and caught Shinya's gaze. "We could say the same to you - it's none of your concern. However, I'm feeling a little generous today, kid. You see, this old man wouldn't give us what we want. After all, we samurai have a right to our payment, and I'm afraid this old man wouldn't pay up. Now run along like a good little boy, unless you want to get hurt."

Shinya smirked. "Now, I was under the impression that the tax you referred to was stopped after the revolution. This man owes you nothing, so leave him alone"

The bandits bristled at Shinya's cocky tone and the leader's face was scarlet. "Boys" he growled "why don't you show that little brat not to mess with the big boys"

Grinning darkly, the three began to stride towards him. One held a wooden staff, another a brokken similar to his own. The last cracked his knuckles while grinning dementedly.

"Sure thing, Boss" he smirked. Shinya tensed, ready for the fight. He had the fate of himself, his family and the old priest on the line. Eyes narrowed, he watched as they began to come into his range. Somewhere outside the ring of men, he could hear the old man cry out "No! Run child! Run while you still can!" but he shut out the voice. No distractions now. Concentrate…

The men began to speed up. Now! Shinya darted forward.

"What the…!" One began, but Shinya rushed in and, avoiding the brokken, slashed upwards. His brokken crashed against the man's jaw, sending him flying backwards into the dirt. He didn't stop to see if he was conscious, but dodged out the way of a fist that was flying towards him. Crouching he leaped sideways to avoid the man's foot as it came to strike at his side. Quickly he spun round and aimed at the leg the man was balancing on after his foot swept by. The bone cracked and with a scream, the man fell to the floor, clutching the wounded limb. Shinya felt a ki flare and turned just in time to see the man with the staff swing his weapon towards him. Shinya dodged. However, this man whirled the staff at great speed, leaving no room for a counter attack with a brokken. All he could do was dodge. Shinya leaped and ducked, his eyes scanning for weakness. As the man swung the staff upwards he saw it. Digging in his heal, Shinya darted forward and swung for his ribs, just below the arms. The man gasped and dropped his weapon.

"My-my arm!" he stammered "I-I can't feel it!"

Shinya drew back his brokken and thrust it forward. It connected with his fleshy neck. The man choked and fell. Shinya whirled around and pointed his brokken at the astounded bandit leader. Shinya smirked, but the man snarled.

"Punk" he howled "now you'll die!"

Ignoring the priest altogether, the man darted forward, his sword raised to strike. Shinya gasped – this man was much more skilled than the others were. Shinya took up stance and readied himself for the attack. With a cry, the leader swung the sword towards his neck, hoping to slice his head from his shoulders, but Shinya brought up is brokken at the last minute. The sword's blade cut deep into the wood, but was stopped by the iron bar weight within it. Quickly they broke free. The bandit snarled even more and swung downwards. Gritting his teeth, Shinya dodged at lightning fast speed and swung himself into the thick branches of a near by tree. The man looked up and hacked at the branch, but Shinya leaped and darted towards the next tree. But as soon as his feet landed on the bark, he pushed himself off again, swinging the brokken as he did so. With centrifugal force, his sword smashed into the man's temple, just as he turned in horror. The man's eye's bulged and he fell backwards, bonelessly, in a heap. Light as a feather, Shinya landed. Slowly, he let out a small sigh and turned to find the first bandit staggering to his feet. He gasped and stared at Shinya with fear.

"Please" he begged "let us go now! We'll leave, we'll leave!"

Shinya nodded "Take your companions and leave. Never come back here. Tell the police everything you've done, you got it?"

"Y-yes sir…"

Shinya watched as the man gathered up his companions and, staggering, made his way down the path, Shinya's raptor-sharp gaze following him all the way. Once the man was out of sight, Shinya relaxed and turned to the old man, who was looking at him as if he had seen a ghost. Shinya wasn't really surprised. His jeans and T-shirt were wet, dirty and ripped. Plus he had just seen a style of Kendo that combined the Kamiya Kasshin and Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu's. But he caught sight of the priest's arm.

"Are you okay, sir?" Shinya asked kindly. "That arm looks pretty bad… Do you have a doctor around?"

The man snapped out of his paralysis. "The nearest one is down town"

"Rrgh! No time! Look, I'll try to help, okay? But just until a doctor can be called"

Carefully he pealed the rough robes from the wound checked it over. The arm, thankfully, wasn't as bad as he thought. It was the blood that had soaked into the cloth that made it seem worse. Shinya sighed and smiled. "You're lucky. Looks like you'll be okay. It's just a flesh wound and you won't bleed too much. Do you have bandages at all?"

The man nodded " inside. I sometimes get someone hurt who can't get to a doctor in time, so I have them just in case…"

"Come on, we'll both go in and we can do it so it won't get infected or something." He carefully helped the man to his feet and led him to the shrine.

The shrine was only a small one inside and plainly decorated with a statue made of what looked like solid gold, which stood by the back wall surrounded by lit candles. At the side was another door that lead into a comfortable looking sitting room with a few cushions scattered about. At the back was a cupboard.

"Are they in there, sir?" the old priest nodded wearily. Shinya smiled encouragingly. "Sit down and I'll sort it out. I know a little bit about first-aid"

He turned to the cupboards and rummaged through them a little bit. There really wasn't all that much in there, so it wasn't long before Shinya emerged with bandages in hand.

A little later and the two sat by a warm fire, which crackled softly. Shinya had pulled a cushion close to the priest's and was carefully cleaning the wound of dirt using water he had warmed from the well. The old man just watched as Shinya worked in silence.

At length, the spoke "Tell me, stranger, what's your name?"

"Oro? M-my name?" what was it Tomoe had said? She had said not to say his name was Himura, didn't she? "Um, I'm Shinya H-Harada"

Harada? Where the heck had that come from? He was sure glad Yukie hadn't heard him use her last name. He didn't think she would ever let him forget it! He quickly busied himself with unrolling the bandage to hide his reddened face.

"Ah well, my name is Takeshi Kojima, Kannushi of this shrine. Thank you, Harada-sama, for your help earlier. If you hadn't come when you did, I would most likely be dead right now."

Shinya blushed even more furiously and waved his hands franticly. "It was nothing really. I was just passing through and, well; four against one didn't seem all that fair to me, that's all! And I'm not a sword master"

The man smiled "Such modesty. Where is it you are heading?"

Shinya had begun to wrap the wound in the bandages, but paused to look up at Takeshi. "Tokyo, Kojima-Kannushi."

"Tokyo, hmm? I had a visitor here only last year around this time that was on his way to Tokyo. A very polite young man he was, as I recall – had long red hair and a scar like a cross on his face, and such sad eyes. He was a swordsman if I remember, like you, but with a very strange sword."

Shinya frowned slightly, already knowing whom this 'young man' was. "How do you mean, strange?"

"Well, the blade was the wrong way round to an ordinary katana. He said it was a 'Sakabato'"

So, it was true what he had read in the book back in his own time. Kenshin Himura had made a vow never to kill again and used a reverse bladed, non-killing sword to defend people.

"Now that I come to think about it, the Rurouni was very much like you, Harada-san. If it weren't for the fact you had black hair, I'd say you two were related! He even spoke like you. He used to say that word - 'Oro' – often."

"R-really?" _well at least I know now what not to say!_ He though nervously. Better not say 'oro' round Tokyo then, or he could have people thinking he was Kenshin's brother, or even his son!

"Are you also a Rurouni, Harada-san?"

"Oh, no I'm not. I'm going to Tokyo to… visit someone. I have…family there, but I've never been there before" _At least not in this time period anyway… _He finished tying the bandage and sat back triumphantly "There you go, Kojima-Kannushi!"

"Ah!" Takeshi wiggled his fingers as he looked at Shinya's handy work, "My thanks once again. Well, Harada-san, it's getting a little late to travel there today. Why don't you stay here for the night? It's the least I can do after you saved my life."

"Oro!" he blurted out. Jeez, this man hopped from one subject to another really quickly! Perhaps it was just old age. He smiled at Takeshi. "Thank you. I'd be honoured."

0

When Shinya woke the next day, it took him a few minutes to remember where he was. As he looked around the small room and listened as birds twittered in the trees outside, watched the sun's rays create beams of light across the Tatami floor, he contemplated the evens that had taken place. His family's disappearance, the appearance of Tomoe's spirit, his jaunt into the past and his run in with the bandits, all of it seeped it's way back into his memory. Shinya carefully lifted the sapphire talisman – still round is neck, resting on the V of his borrowed yukata – and squeezed it tightly. He bit his lip.

"So, it really was real… all of it…" he whispered, fighting the urge to cry. He growled at how pathetic he was being and pushed the covers from him. Sulking about it wouldn't accomplish anything. Carefully, he searched the room for his clothes, but instead found clean garments waiting for him. A little surprised, he inspected the new clothes.

They were very similar to the training clothes he wore for kendo. The gi was a pale blue compared with the white of his training gi, but didn't have any badge on it indicating a sword school. It was lined with a darker blue. The hakama were the same colour as the lining on the gi, as were the socks. As he held them up to himself, he was surprised to find that they fitted him perfectly. Carefully, he stripped himself of the yukata and changed into the new clothes. They were made of slightly rough cotton, but they were warm and felt good against his skin. He sort of wished he had a mirror to see what he looked like. Unfortunately there wasn't one in the room, so he just folded away his futon and slid open the door.

The shrine was quiet and serene, but as he gazed around, he could smell miso soup cooking. Following his nose, he walked along the Tatami floor and slid open the door. The old priest, Takeshi Kojima, was sitting on the porch while stirring a large bowl of miso soup. As Shinya padded outside, Takeshi turned towards him and smiled. "Ah, Good morning, Harada-san! I hope you want breakfast."

"Morning" he smiled back. He stroked the front of his new clothes "did you… um… get these for me?"

"We happen to be the same size, so I gave you one of my spares. There are still some people in Tokyo who don't approve of foreigners and might take you for one. Are you from Yokohama then?"

"Um…yes" he lied. _Well, at least it would explain to him any of my future-like behaviour and the old clothes_. Still, lying to the priest made him feel bad "Ano… Thank you, Kojima-Kannushi."

"No need for thanks." He answered quietly "if it hadn't been for you, I would be dead by now and the shrine would have been destroyed." He looked at Shinya in admiration, which made him a little uncomfortable. "I also packed some food and money for you"

Now Shinya felt _really_ guilty "No! I couldn't take that!"

"But you saved my life. I'm in your debt"

Shinya opened his mouth to argue, but it was obvious that Takeshi had made up his mind. He sighed in defeat. "Alright then…"

Takeshi beamed and past him a bowl of miso soup before taking up one of his own. "Here you go, Harada-san. If you are going on to Tokyo today, you'll need your strength"

Shinya looked at his own, still feeling guilty deep down, though he knew Takeshi wanted him to take so much from him. "Thank you…" he mumbled before starting to eat.

To be continued…

AN So, Shinya's finally gone into the past to start his quest to save his family, but has already bumped into trouble! Poor guy, what's the rest of the quest gonna be like! I thought I'd give you a taste of the action that is on the menu later. Plus this scene could become useful to me. How? You're gonna have to keep watching this space to find out! Okay how was my Fourth chapter? Good, bad? Review and give me you opinions.

When I was thinking of how Shinya could get to the past, the well idea popped up. Then I remembered the stuff about Inuyasha and that Kagome used a well to get to feudal times, so I thought Shinya would probably think of this too, as I did make reference to the Manga comics in his room in chapter two. Just as a disclaimer for that, I don't own Inuyasha or any other Manga comic either, so solicitors can get off my back!

Next time on 'Fading Futures'

Shinya makes his way to Meiji Tokyo to find Kenshin and Kaoru at the Kamiya dojo, but meets with someone who knows them very well indeed. He's finally gonna see his ancestors! What happens? Find out on the next chapter of Fading Futures: '_Past and Present collide'_

Mata Aimasho, Minna! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	5. Chapter 5

A.N. Welcome back, Minna, to my Fifth chapter of '_Fading Futures'_. Now Shinya's in the past, the real fun's about to startI want to thank everyone who read my fic so far and is now giving this chapter a go too, so arigato gozaimasu! Also thanks to Beth-kun, my faithful reviewer. Your reviews are so heart-warming (Sniff). I want to thank you soooo much for your great loyalty to my little fic. You're helping The Kenshin-Gumi and me out big time! Your review's are giving us ideas and also give us motivation to get better and better, so give yourselves a big pat on the back too! Hope you like my next chapter!

Once more, the bit solicitors are watching for, the disclaimer. As said many, many times, Chosha Kurenai – no matter how much she wants to – does not – I repeat, does NOT – own Rurouni Kenshin. But Shinya and this little fic are MINE!

Last time on _Fading Futures:_

Shinya made his way to the past, but has already had to deal with bandits who tried to hurt an old priest.

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Five

Past and present collide

Shinya sighed as he finally left sight of the Shrine. He couldn't help but feel guilty though. The priest, Takeshi Kojima, had not only given him several new sets of clothes for the journey to Tokyo, but also food and a hell of a lot of money. Okay, he had to admit the money would come in useful and it was nice to have enough clean clothing and sandals that would help him fit into the Meiji era. However, it made him feel even worse that he had to lie about his identity to the kind old man. Carefully, he shifted the weight of his bag and continued to walk towards Tokyo. Ever eager to please, Takeshi had told him to follow the east sea road to the next town, as it would be the quickest rout. As Shinya hadn't even a map of Meiji era Japan, he followed the old man's advice and took to the road. He carefully avoided the innkeepers calling out to passers by to stay at their inns and weaved through the crowds, soon passing out of the town and along the smooth road.

As Shinya walked, he mused about what he would do once he got to Tokyo and how he was going to get his ancestors together once he got there. Perhaps, he could secretly nudge them into getting closer and watch out for any problems from hiding. Maybe if he pretended to be someone wanting to learn swordsmanship at the Kamiya dojo, he'd get close enough to actually help the two personally, instead of relying on chance. Either way, he had little time to do anything. That in mind, he quickened his pace.

It was almost evening when Shinya finally reached Tokyo, but the streets still bustled with people. He couldn't help but stare. Meiji Tokyo was so much different from modern Tokyo. Almost all the buildings were in the traditional Japanese style. Men wandered around in similar clothing to what Shinya wore now, while women wearing beautiful kimono, delicately patterned, pattered along in high geta. Shinya couldn't help but slow down to examine the stalls, see the oh-so-different sites and smell the mix of aromas from local restaurants and perfume shops. Several children raced after each other in a game, laughing and giggling. Shinya smiled after them.

Finally, Shinya pulled his eyes away from a silk merchant's stall and began to search for the Dojo. At first he just randomly searched the streets, but when all it seemed he was doing was getting lost, he began to ask people for directions. Some people admitted they weren't sure where it was, while a group of people began arguing amongst themselves about the exact location that Shinya gave up. Another seemed to know exactly the directions, but Shinya just got lost.

It was almost sun set when he found himself standing over a bridge somewhere in the middle of Tokyo, still nowhere nearer to finding the Kamiya dojo than he had been when he had arrived. With a sigh, he leaned on the rails and looked out over the water. The river shone in the orange glow of the dying sun, like thousands of diamonds sewn across the surface. The river chuckled and gurgled as it flowed downstream. He watched as a fish swam lazily, just below the surface. A cold wind blew from the north, making him shiver violently, despite the dark blue haori the priest had given to him. Shinya hunched over slightly and tugged it further over his slim form. It's no good searching anymore today, he thought miserably. Perhaps he should just go to one of the inns he had seen around town, pay to stay a night and continue on in the morning? Deciding that was the better option than wandering the streets all night, Shinya picked up his bag and turned back the way he had come.

Wham!

"Orooo…"

Shinya stumbled back swirly-eyed and fell over. He had just walked straight into a man going the other way. He looked up and gasped.

Before him stood a man that looked like an older version of Tomoji. His dark hair stood up in all directions and looked a little like a rooster's. He must have been around Six foot something a least. He wore white clothes lined in navy blue or black (he couldn't quite tell in the fading light), his shirt open to reveal a slim, but rather muscular chest. Around is head was a red headband, the ties were blowing behind in the wind. One eyebrow was raised as he looked down at him.

Shinya suddenly remembered his manners. "E-excuse me, Sir!"

The man leaned down and with one hand grabbed the back of his gi and hauled him clean off his feet before setting him upright again, but didn't let go. His brown eyes looked at him in surprise.

"Do I know you?" his voice was quite deep and seemed to hold humour behind it.

"O-Huh?" he corrected himself quickly (_remember, no oro! _he snarled to himself silently) He flashed him a disarming smile. "Nope, I don't think so, sir. I only just arrived in Tokyo today."

"Hmm? Perhaps you just look like someone I know. Watch where you going next time, 'kay kid?" as he turned away, Shinya was surprised to see the Kanji for 'bad' written on his shirt. Perhaps he was trying to start a new fashion, but…

He had begun to stride off when Shinya decided to throw caution to the wind and give asking directions one more shot. "Hey mister! Do you know how to get to the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu dojo?"

The man turned and looked at him again. "Know where it is? I practically live there. I'm going myself." Suddenly he became deadly serious "Why you wanna know?"

_Well, I might as well go with the second plan. This guy looks as if he thinks I'm gonna kill someone_. Shinya smiled again "I want to become a student to learn swords" he said pleasantly. "I heard Kamiya Kasshin-ryu was a Katsujin-ken and I'd really like to learn a sword style that could help people." He prayed he sounded convincing.

"New student, huh? Well, Jou-chan'd kill me if I didn't tell ya."

Shinya frowned slightly "Jou-chan?"

"Kaoru Kamiya, the assistant master"

"Oh"

"Listen, you come with me and I'll show you where the Dojo is."

"R-really? Thanks mister!"

The tall man shuddered slightly "would you stop with the 'Mister' thing. The name's Sanosuke Sagara"

Sagara? Wasn't that the name of the captain of the betrayed Sekihotai? Quickly he pushed the thought away and grinned in return. "I'm Shinya Harada"

0

"Yahiko, concentrate on your swings" Kaoru Kamiya shouted for what seemed the umpteenth time that day. Yahiko Myojin, first apprentice of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, gritted his teeth.

"It'd be so much easier if your Ugly face wasn't distracting me!"

Snap! Kaoru's temper got the better of her.

Kenshin Himura sweat-dropped as the young Kenjutsu instructor stormed after her apprentice, Shinai raised high as Yahiko bolted round the room. _Not again…_

"Come back here, Yahiko! I'll teach you for calling me Ugly!"

The young samurai laughed and continued his torments "Ugly, Ugly, Tanooki!" in a sing-songy voice. However, this time he wasn't fast enough and Kaoru managed to smack the Shinai hard on his head. The lump steadily grew bigger. "Ow! What the heck was that for!"

"Well if you respected your Sensei, I wouldn't have to hit you now would I?"

"Well, if you weren't so ugly, then I wouldn't have to call you an ugly girl!"

"YAHIKO!"

Kenshin raised his hands and edged towards the two now pulling at each other's faces. "Now, now, don't you think you should stop fighting? You'll wake Ayame and Suzume, that you will." But they ignored him. He sweat-dropped again. "Oro…"

The door clattered as Sanosuke slid the door open "Hey Kenshin. They fighting again?"

"Sessha's afraid it's been pretty much like this all day…" he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh man…" he sat down next to the red haired swordsman. Just then, Kenshin sensed another presence and a head peeped around the corner of the open door. "Oro?" he gasped. The boy gaped back at him. It was no wonder really. If it weren't for the fact that the boy was obviously younger than he was and had black hair instead of red and no scar, he would have been his double. He was about a head shorter than he was with unruly hair and warm, amethyst eyes, wide as plates at the moment. The other two finally stopped fighting to look at the new comer.

"Oh yeah," Sanosuke said, as if only just remembering something important "this is Shinya Harada. He wants to learn Kasshin-ryu from ya, Missy"

The boy smiled pleasantly and bowed. Kaoru's bad mood vanished instantly. "Really! I'm Kaoru Kamiya, assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu. Glad to meet you, Shinya"

"Pleased to meet you too, Sensei" He answered politely. The boy had a soft speaking voice.

"Cool," Yahiko chimed in. "Another student! I'm Yahiko Myojin, first apprentice of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu!"

"Nice to meet you, Yahiko" Though he looked confused by the change in attitude. Kenshin couldn't blame him really. Shyly he glanced at Kenshin.

"Sessha is Kenshin Himura. Pleased to meet you."

Shinya started at the name. So, just as he thought, this is his ancestor, the ex-hitokiri, Battosai turned Rurouni. "I'm honoured, sir"

Kenshin saw the surprise flash in his amethyst eyes and felt a little uncomfortable. Did he know who Kenshin was? However, Shinya's ki was strong, but honest. Perhaps he had just imagined the look in his eyes…

"Come in, Shinya. We're just about to have dinner. Why don't you join us?" Kaoru asked with a smile "You must have travelled a long way"

Shinya grinned back "Quite a long way. I'm new round here, though, so it took me a while to actually find the dojo, Kamiya-san." He laughed as he rubbed the back of his head with a hand in embarrassment.

Kaoru gave Yahiko a side-glance and said, "At least someone knows when to respect his teacher!" Yahiko just stuck out his tongue. She turned back to the new boy. "You can just call me Kaoru, though."

"Sure, Kaoru-san" Shinya smiled and sat next to Sanosuke when Kaoru waved him to sit down. Yahiko sat down next to him on his other side. Shinya glanced at him under his bangs. Yahiko looked as if he was about 10 or 11 years old, but his ki was proud and a lot more stubborn than any other boy of that age he knew. He could see the warrior's spirit in his red-brown eyes. Shinya guessed he was of a samurai decent. Quickly he looked away when Yahiko turned to him so he wouldn't catch him looking.

"So, where do you come from then?"

Kaoru glared at the boy, but said nothing. Shinya, however, smiled. _Just stick with the story…_

"I'm from Yokohama, or at least, I was"

"Why come to a crappy little dojo like this? Surely there was at least one in Yokohama?"

"Probably, but I was moving to Tokyo anyway and I heard about the 'sword that protects'. Really, it sounded like a good style to learn." His mind started to come up with reasons to why he would think so. Yahiko looked as if he was becoming rather interested in him.

However, it was Sanosuke that glanced at him. "So, you came with you're family, huh?"

This caught him of guard. "M-my family? No, I came on my own. My family is… they're…" What? He was sure saying 'my family vanished into thin air' might raise some suspicions. But when he looked up, he saw Sanosuke exchanging glances with the others. Shinya realised with a jerk that they thought he meant they were dead! Well, he guessed that, in a way, they were right. Shinya's family hadn't been born yet, and as they had just vanished because they didn't exist, it meant the same thing really.

"I'm sorry, Shinya-kun" Kaoru said quietly.

"It's okay, Kaoru-san. Besides, they wouldn't want me to mope about or get depressed." He smiled reassuringly.

They all fell silent for the moment. Finally, Sanosuke said, "um… who cooked tonight?"

"Sessha did" Kenshin answered with a smile, "it should be ready soon, that it should"

Both Sanosuke and Yahiko looked relieved. Shinya had to stifle a laugh at their faces. Leaning to Yahiko, he whispered "I'm guessing Kaoru's a lousy cook, huh?" The younger boy laughed.

"If you had to eat Kaoru's food you're first day here, you'd probably leave straight away."

"That bad, huh?"

"You'd probably die of food poisoning!"

Whack! Kaoru struck Yahiko hard on the head. Shinya sweat dropped. This was going to be interesting… Sort of.

He sweat dropped again as Yahiko leaped up and, despite the growing lump began bickering with the woman as if they were siblings. He was really starting to be glad he was an only child!

Kenshin returned and began to pass out soup and rice balls. Shinya's mouth watered slightly. He remembered he hadn't really eaten anything since breakfast back at the Shinto shrine with the old priest, except for the rice ball he had eaten when he had been walking. When Kenshin smiled and passed Shinya his, he grinned and thanked him. Yahiko and Kaoru were suddenly sitting round the table as if nothing had happened.

As Shinya began to eat, he watched as his two ancestors sat next to each other and Kenshin passed a bowl to Kaoru, from under his bangs. He watched as Kaoru blushed slightly when her hand brushed against his. He saw something flash in Kenshin's eyes before they took up a slightly guarded expression. He was sure that they had almost forgotten the rest of them were around. Shinya almost felt embarrassed to be watching them, but they broke apart and, blushing furiously began to eat their own meals. Shinya looked into his own bowl to think for a moment. The feelings were there, so it mightn't be as hard as he had thought it might be, but there was something else that worried him. When Kenshin had looked at Kaoru, it was almost as if he didn't think he should. As if he didn't think himself worthy. Perhaps those 'sessha's' he said, he actually believed…

His train of thought was broken when Sanosuke and Yahiko began to make sounds that greatly imitated a pig as they ate so fast it was almost as if they thought the food would run off there plates. Unable to stop the temptation, Shinya prodded Sanosuke and smirked. "The food is dead, you know, it's not gonna get up and walk."

Kaoru snorted and everyone burst out laughing as Sanosuke grumbled under his breath. However, he did slow down…a little.

Shinya was quite surprised at how welcoming they had been to him. He was a complete stranger, for Pete sake! Yet, they made him feel at home instantly. Maybe that's why Kenshin stayed in the first place. Kaoru had seemed annoyed when Yahiko was prying. Perhaps she just didn't care about whom people had been. He secretly gave her his respect.

After they had finished, another argument broke out across the table about who would do the dishes.

"Oro…"sighed Kenshin.

"Um…they always like this, Kenshin-san" Shinya asked him in an undertone.

"Pretty much – ORO!"

Shinya and Kenshin ducked as Kaoru began hurling things at Yahiko and Sano who had run behind them. "You freeloaders!" she screeched "you're always eating our food and you don't do anything! Get back here!"

"Hey, I'll do them, Kaoru-san…" anything to get her to stop throwing missiles!

"Sessha could do them –"

"No. Shinya, you're a guest and you've made dinner tonight, Kenshin" finally she grabbed Yahiko and Sanosuke as they groaned with bloody lumps on their heads and dragged them off.

"And I thought grandpa was bad," Shinya muttered.

0

Not long after Kaoru had set up Sanosuke and Yahiko (kicking and screaming) with doing the dishes, Kaoru and Kenshin gave him a tour of the house and dojo before showing him where he would be sleeping while he lived with them. Of course, Shinya already knew the layout of the house, but pretended that he had never even seen the place before. To Shinya's surprise, he was given the exact same room he would occupy in the future. He made sure he hid his surprise though and, after saying goodnight, entered, closing the door behind him.

The room looked much bigger without the desk and computer that would later inhabit it and was much more simply decorated. Carefully, he placed down his bag in the corner and unrolled his futon. He took off his clothes and slipped into his Yukata, but didn't go to sleep just yet. Cross-legged and sitting in the dark, he took out the talisman and looked at it as he contemplated what he had seen.

At least Kenshin and Kaoru did have the feelings, so he didn't need to be too forceful or anything, therefore that wouldn't be too much of a problem. But the look in Kenshin's eyes, the sadness, it was stronger than what he had seen in the picture. Kenshin obviously hated what he had had to do during the revolution, so that could possibly explain why he wouldn't think himself worthy of the happiness, but then there was the other thing he had seen. Now he came to think about it, it seemed that something else was holding him back. Was it something to do with that tragedy the book had mentioned?

Shinya groaned slightly and flopped back onto his futon. He was just too tired to think about it just then. However, it was long after he heard the last door close as the others went to bed, and he heard Yahiko snoring before he finally managed to drift off to a fitful sleep.

To be continued…

AN. Ah, poor Shinya's already feeling the strain and he's barely started! I had been trying to think how Shinya would meet up with everyone, but it was rather difficult. Then I came up with a possible title and the Gumi turned on the light bulb. So, how was it, Minna? Good, bad? You just keep those reviews coming! We're always happy to get constructive comments!

A little note on 'Tanooki'. A Tanooki is a Japanese mythical monster also known as a 'Racoon-dog. Kaoru is described as a racoon at some points, so naming her Tanooki seemed an appropriate insult for Yahiko.

Next time on 'Fading Futures'

Shinya starts practice at the Kamiya dojo, but has some plans up his sleeve about what he's got to do, but Kenshin and Kaoru aren't making it easy for him. Not to mention the story Shinya has to tell as to why he wants to learn Kasshin-ryu! What happens? Find out on the next chapter of Fading Futures: '_Truth of Feelings'_

Mata Aimasho, Minna-san! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	6. Chapter 6

A.N. Welcome back, Minna-san, to my sixth chapter of '_Fading Futures'_. Shinya's now met the Kenshin-Gumi, but he's already feeling the strain!I want to thank everyone who read my fic so far and is now giving this chapter a go too, so arigato gozaimasu! As always, thank you to Beth-kun for your inspiring reviews. Also, thank you Spriggen for yours. I'm glad you're enjoying my fic. You're helping The Kenshin-Gumi and me out big time! Your review's are giving us motivation to get better and better, and to keep working on 'Fading Futures, so give yourselves a big pat on the back too! Hope you like this one!

Disclaimer: (grumbles under breath.) Still not mine…

Last time on Fading Futures:

Shinya finally met his ancestors, but already feels the strain of his task.

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Six

Truth of Feelings

Shinya had decided that he would give the Kenshin-Gumi a week to get used to him being around before he'd attempt anything. Just then, Shinya's position was still fragile and he would never convince them to let him help out a relationship without him actually having any of their trust. It would also help him to understand what made the two tick. Besides, Kenshin and Kaoru were his ancestors; he needed to give them some respect!

Shinya waited patiently on the dojo porch for Yahiko to finally get himself up. He was sitting in his new practice clothes, not much different from the ones back home – a white gi and light blue hakama – as well as a new Shinai Kaoru had given him only moments before. It felt strange as he sat watching Kenshin doing the laundry, while Sanosuke dozed in the sun. For strange reasons he kept expecting Kiyoshi to come storming round after him to do 1000 strokes, or Noriko to pop round and ask if anyone wanted refreshments, even though he knew they wouldn't. Still, it was a funny thought.

Finally, Kaoru dragged Yahiko out of bed. Shinya was just really glad he wasn't getting the ill feelings from vanishing anymore and was getting up at his usual, admittedly early, times. Yahiko complained a bit, but it looked like it was still too early for him to argue. Shinya got up and followed them inside.

As they began with a deep breath, Shinya began to mentally prepare himself. He was going to have to act as if he had never held a weapon in his life. He was privately glad that he had been getting such good marks in drama class now…

After Kaoru had set Yahiko up on his own, she turned to Shinya and said, "The Kamiya Kasshin-ryu is a sword to protect people. Its techniques rely on using the opponent's strengths against him."

He knew that already…

Finally she began to 'show' him how to hold the Shinai. Shinya also knew this, but purposely messed up, as a beginner would do. She then started to show him the basic stances and then started to teach him how to downward stroke, like the ones Yahiko was doing at the other side of the dojo. For the first few strokes, Shinya purposely messed up his stance, but after Kaoru corrected it, he began to use the correct forms. Better her thinking he was a fast learner rather than he teaching himself bad habits that could get him hurt in a real fight.

Meanwhile, Kaoru stepped back a bit to watch, not long after joined by Kenshin, who came to see the new student. The new comer's potential impressed both of them.

"He's good. He has the spirit for it and it looks like he has caught onto the concepts of Kamiya Kasshin-ryu quickly, hasn't he, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru nodded. "If he continues like this, he'll be a great swordsman one day. The look in his eyes makes me think he has his reasons to want to learn, just like Yahiko did"

It was a little later when Shinya finally put away his Shinai and changed into his other clothes. The sun had broken all the cloud in the sky, so it was very warm, despite being in February. He joined Yahiko and Sanosuke as they watched Kenshin playing a ball game with Ayame and Suzume. Kaoru was cooking breakfast. Interested, Shinya glanced over to see what it was they were having, but found he couldn't quite distinguish anything. He sat back again slowly with apprehension.

Yahiko caught his gaze and said "Just thought I'd warn you, it'll be bad."

Shinya flinched slightly at the look Kaoru flashed Yahiko. Sanosuke muttered something about why Kenshin wasn't cooking, before he ducked to avoid Kaoru throwing an over-large daikon at his head. Shinya sniggered.

Kaoru began to dish out the whatever-it-was and passed it to everyone. "I really outdid myself this time" Shinya hated to think what it was usually like then…

Slowly, he dipped his chopsticks in and hesitantly ate the blob. It was all he could do not to spit it back up again. Kaoru was looking at him expectantly. "It's… well… um…." But what to say that wouldn't sound insulting?

"Oh, he's speechless cause it's so good!" Kaoru laughed.

"Uh, sure…"

He was sure he heard Sanosuke say something about a strong stomach or something.

They were getting closer to the end of their meal (if that was what you could call that Whatever-it-was) when Kaoru brought up the conversation about Shinya's skills. "…You seemed to already have that want to protect people." She said in a way that was obviously a subtle question about the reasons. Well, this was the moment of truth. The story he was going to tell them wasn't a complete lie, but it still sounded like something from a soap opera. Slowly he put down the bowl and chopsticks and took a deep breath

"Well, when I was living in the outskirts of Yokohama, my family and I lived very close to an inn, where my grandma used to work as a cook. The owner of the inn was a man named Ukawa Inoue, who often got drunk and you could sometimes hear him shouting at people. But the guy was really big and strong, so no one ever complained in case they got hurt. The guy had a very young daughter named Sumire. She was only about Ayame-chan's age, perhaps a little older, but she was very kind and helpful. My friends and I used to see her quite often, but every time we saw her she was always hurt in one way or another. She used to say she was clumsy and fell often.

"But then, when my friends and I saw her one-day, she was all beaten up and unconscious. It was really bad; she was black and blue all over and several ribs had been broken. We took her back to my place, where we called a doctor. When she had regained consciousness, she confessed that it was her father who had beaten her in a drunken rage."

"No!" Kaoru gasped. _Huh, good audience_ Shinya thought. He took another breath and continued.

"My family looked after her until she was well again, but one-day she just went back to her dad again, so she wouldn't get us into any trouble. She was so selfless, really.

"It wasn't long after until I saw her again, though. I was late coming home and I saw Sumire and her father and he was beating her again. I-I tried to help her, but he was too strong and in the end he beat me, took Sumire and left."

Shinya's voice caught in his throat. It surprised him. This had happened some time ago now, when he often went on holiday with this grandma (his mother's mom), but it still brought the righteous anger up. It was after that when he asked Kiyoshi to give him lessons in kendo. Still, he thought he should have been okay talking about it now, five years later.

In a smaller voice, Shinya forced himself to continue. "When we next heard about her, we found out her father was being arrested for manslaughter – for killing her in one of his drunken rages. I sort of thought it was my fault, you know, 'cause if I had been stronger, I could have saved her, most likely. So when I heard about the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, I thought that I could make myself stronger and help other people, in her memory."

Everyone was surprised into silence after his story. He glanced at all of them. Each of them looked as if they were half-sorry for him and half in awe. He could almost feel himself blush. "Wow…" Yahiko whispered. Shinya smiled, hoping to lighten the mood again. He had enough to worry about than thinking of the past.

"Anyway," he said in a lighter tone "I already said that they wouldn't want me to be sad. I'm sure that wherever she is now, she'd be happy with the deceptions. Really, our friends never truly leave us, because while we hold them in our hearts, they live on within us, so I don't feel too sad now."

Shinya wasn't all that surprised when he saw the astonishment on everyone's faces.

0

Things began to settle into a pattern as the days went by and Shinya began to learn a lot about his ancestors and the rest of the Kenshin-Gumi.

Kaoru had been the daughter of Koshijiro Kamiya, who had died during the Seinan war against the Samurai classes in the old Satsuma prefecture in 1877. She had lived alone after that with Ayame, Suzume and their grandfather, Dr Gensai, coming to visit every so often. Then a guy named Gohei Hiruma, who was a former student, began to pretend to be Battosai to discredit the dojo and Kenshin had come along and helped her out. Shinya remembered reading something about that in the book Kiyoshi had lent to him.

Sanosuke had been a member of the Sekihotai, Shinya found out mostly by accident. He had been under the command of Captain Sozo Sagara, which is why, he guessed, that Sanosuke had taken 'Sagara' as a last name. Shinya had taken to calling him 'Rooster', after accidentally calling it him once. Shinya was starting to think Sanosuke thought him a demon or something. Perhaps it didn't help that Shinya had told Yahiko about the practical jokes he had played on his Grandpa, which Yahiko had taken to use on Sano, with a little help from himself.

He had been right in guessing Yahiko had been of samurai decent. Kaoru told him once when Yahiko was acting a little cocky, as if in apology. Shinya actually thought he wasn't too bad – he acted a little like Yukie's little brother, who Shinya got on well with.

Kenshin, however, was still a bit of a question mark to Shinya in some cases. Sure he was polite (to the extent of annoyance) and laughed and smiled, but Shinya had a feeling that he did this mostly as an act. He was sure that Kenshin knew a lot more than he let on, however dense he acted at times. He was also sure Kenshin had read his ki more than once. But Shinya realised that Kenshin was holding back because of the Tragedy, but it was more tragic than he had first suspected. He had caught a flash of his ki – at the hidden loneliness, the sorrow, and the guilt – when he was sneaking a look at Kaoru. He noticed Kenshin was often watching her out the corner of his eye, as if he was frightened she would vanish…

The week came to an end quite quickly, yet Shinya had found that they thought him part of the group now and already trusted him, so he began to think of what to do now. The easiest, he speculated, was to just ask them about it – separately of course. Then he would know where he stood. So it was with some anticipation that he finished his lesson and waited for Yahiko to exit the dojo, leaving only him and Kaoru inside. Carefully, he approached her.

"Kaoru? Could I talk to you a minute, in private?"

"Sure. Is there something wrong, Shin-kun?"

Shinya smiled. "Not exactly. I was just wondering if you've told Kenshin how you feel about him yet?"

As Shinya asked the question, Kaoru ran through some rather amusing reactions. First she turned red as Kenshin's hair, her eyes widened and she fell over anime style. Finally regaining her composure, at least a little bit, she spluttered, "W-what do you mean, 'How I feel about him!'"

Shinya had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing. With a serious face he said. "Come on. From the way you and Kenshin act round one another, there are three options. One - you two haven't told your feelings for each other; two - you have told them, but are still afraid of others seeing – and to be honest I wouldn't blame you at the moment – or you two have broken up. Which is it?"

Kaoru quickly hid her face as she busied herself with herself with her Shinai. "W-what makes you think that I have feelings for Kenshin?"

"I'm not blind, Kaoru. You two are so obvious sometimes it's painful to watch," he replied.

Kaoru, blushing furiously, looked as if she wanted to die of embarrassment or strangle him just then. Shinya decided he would have to tread a little more cautiously from now on.

"Kaoru," He said softly, back to her but using his ki reading her reactions, "Every time you look at him, or he looks at you, you can see that the feelings are there, but it is also followed by torment and pain. Everyone can see it – except you two it seems. It breaks my heart to be honest with you. Both of you are really nice people, you don't deserve to feel that way. So, for both you're sakes, please tell me."

Shinya could feel Kaoru's ki soften as he spoke. Now it felt as if she was close to tears. Slowly, he looked around to see her with eyes wide and shinning.

Slowly, she lowered her eyes, but eventually complied. "Well, if you must know, no. No, I haven't told him. I can't just say 'Kenshin I love you'. I don't know if he feels the same way as me. I mean, I'm not much of a lady and-"

"To be totally honest with you, Kaoru, I don't think he cares one wit about whether you're a 'lady' or not. The way he looks at you says he loves you exactly as you are, but I think that he doesn't want to say anything because of the same reasons, as well as the fact that he acts as if he doesn't think he's worthy of you."

Kaoru looked stunned " 'Worthy of me'?" she whispered.

"Yeah" He watched as she stared into space. Finally, he said "Look, Kaoru, how about I make a business proposition: If you can help me out if I need it, I can help you to get over that shyness and everything and help you to say those words to Kenshin – or even the other way round. What do you say?"

Kaoru stared at him for several moments, fumbling with her Shinai before she turned a little red again. "You can help me to get Kenshin?"

"Yup!"

A radiant smile spread over her face "Okay, it's a deal!"

Yahiko glanced up, more than a little confused when Kaoru almost skipped out of the dojo, later followed by Shinya, who was shaking his head with a laugh. Something was going on here…

0

With one down, Shinya set off to look for his other ancestor, finding him kneeling next to the bowl doing the laundry. Shinya sweat dropped – he was sure that Kenshin was supposed to be a swordsman, not a maid! Still, he put that out of his head and strode forward to him. Kenshin turned and smiled as he approached.

"Ohayo, Shinya-kun"

Shinya smiled in return and knelt at the other side of the bowl facing him. "'Ohayo, Kenshin. Need any help? I'm done with practice today, so I haven't really got much else to do."

Kenshin glanced up at him from under his bangs. He was sure the boy had come with more of a purpose than he was letting on. Still, when he checked his ki, it wasn't showing anything too suspicious, so he nodded. "Of course. Sessha would like the company."

Shinya rolled up his sleeves and reached into the bowl to scrub one of the training gi. For several minutes, Shinya and Kenshin worked silently. Finally, Shinya spoke.

"I was wondering if you're going to tell Kaoru at some point in the future."

This confused him. "Oro?"

Still scrubbing the Gi, he said, "You know what I'm on about Kenshin. Are you going to tell her before someone else comes along and says the words before you?"

Kenshin stared at him in shock. The boy finally looked up and caught his gaze. "Kenshin, I know you like her. I know she likes you. I think everyone knows but the two of you, so why don't you tell her?"

The swordsman was doing such a good impression of a fish that Shinya had to stop himself from laughing in his face. It was beginning to hurt his ribs when Kenshin finally got his act together. He sighed and lowered his eyes.

"Kaoru-dono deserves much more than someone like me, that she does. She should have someone closer to her own age, one who doesn't have so much blood on his hands."

"Dammit, Kenshin" he said quietly. Kenshin looked up at him in surprise to see him frowning. "Do you think Kaoru cares about whatever happened then? You think she gives a damn that you're older than she is? She loves you for who you are now!"

"Sessha is not worthy to love anyone, Shinya" he said, suddenly amazed that he had said it in front of him "Sessha could never deserve that type of happiness again"

Shinya stood to hang the gi on the washing-line. Quietly he said, "That be as it may, does that also mean that Kaoru doesn't deserve that happiness too?"

Kenshin gaped up at him, before he turned to go. This wasn't a convocation he wanted to drag out just then.

"BATTOSAI!"

Kenshin flinched slightly and spun round, staring at the boy. Shinya smiled bashfully. "Sorry." He said sheepishly "but that was the only thing I could think of to stop you from going. Please listen to me for a moment. I promise I'll never talk about this again if you don't want me to." Shinya put another gi on the line, his back to Kenshin, but softly he said, "What you're doing right now is hurting both you and Kaoru, Kenshin. You're pussyfooting round each other and even though everyone else can tell you both love each other, you're both still blind.

"I don't know what happened in the past and to be honest, it's got nothing to do with it now. But I just want you to think, if someone says those words before you, would you act like you are now? Could you watch while someone else has what you could have had? Then again, I don't think she could love anyone else. Could you let her live like that? With you, yet still all alone? You can't just walk away now, either, because it will break her heart. Kenshin, if not for your own sake, can't you tell her for her's? To protect her heart?"

Shinya met his wide eyes and smiled again sadly. Finishing hanging the laundry he walked away, leaving a stunned Kenshin behind him. A little further away, from their hiding places, Yahiko and Sanosuke exchanged shocked glances.

To be continued…

Chosha's notes: A nice load of angst for you in this chapter, as well as some spoilers too! So Shinya's starting his plans, but Kenshin was being difficult. I thought that Shinya should be similar to Kenshin, you know, in the way he can get people to tell him things and come up with those words of wisdom. I guess even someone like Kenshin's gotta hear 'em! This chapter was fairly difficult for me, so I wasn't sure how it would come out or how Kenshin or Kaoru would react, so any comments would be great, so I could perhaps improve on the chapter. So, how was it, Minna? Good, bad? You just keep those reviews coming! We're always happy to get constructive comments!

To be honest, I surprised myself. After I wrote Shinya's speeches, the only thing I could think was "Good God, I came up with THAT!" really, that's the most grown up thing I've ever thought of! Guess doing AS Religious Studies and looking at all those philosophers is messing with my head, I tell you!

Next time on 'Fading Futures'

Shinya gets a visit from a person he didn't think he would see and learns the truth behind the ex-hitokiri's feelings. Plus Sanosuke and Yahiko get in on the act. What are they going to do and who is Shinya's mysterious guest? Find out on the next chapter of Fading Futures: '_operation; get-together'_

Mata Aimasho, Minna-san! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	7. Chapter 7

A.N. Welcome back, Minna-san, to my seventh chapter of '_Fading Futures'_. I want to thank everyone who read my fic so far and is now giving this chapter a go too, so arigato gozaimasu! Also thanks to Beth-Kun, Hitokiri Taijiya and Xeno for you reviews. I'll even try to improve the previous chapters if you really want it, Minna! So give yourselves a big pat on the back for all your help! Hope you like this Chapter!

Hitokiri Taijiya: Oh, about the last chapter. I was sort of thinking that right then, Kenshin was busy focusing on Shinya, as he was worried about the things he was saying. Because of the stuff he was going on about, Kenshin might have overlooked Yahiko and Sano. Obviously, I could be wrong, but it made a dramatic ending to the chapter! (Heh!)

Beth-kun: I hope you did ace it! Just remember to invite me to the party! LOL! By the way, be scared about sounding like you mom. Quick, run while you still can… But then again, this is coming from the person who made up that weird speech for Shinya, so you might want to ignore me. Anyway, good luck with those anatomy exam results!

Disclaimer: My story, Shinya (and all characters that don't appear in the Anime or Manga) is mine, but Rurouni Kenshin and its characters are not. They all belong to Watsuki-sama.

Last time on Fading Futures:

Shinya faced Kenshin and Kaoru on their feeling for each other, but Kenshin is proving difficult. Sanosuke and Yahiko overheard as Shinya attempted to get Kenshin to see the truth.

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Seven

Operation: Get-together

Shinya stood under a young Sakura tree, which stood on top of a small hill overlooking Meiji era Tokyo as it swayed softly in the wind. There were no blossoms on it just then, the branches fairly bare. He touched its trunk and smiled softly. Shinya remembered this tree. It was the one that grew close to his home, back in the future. It was kind of nice to see and feel something that he knew that wasn't so strange to him in this unusual time. The wind picked up a little bit and tugged at his gi, but he ignored the chill. With a long sigh, he closed his eyes and slid to the ground, hugging his knees in front of him. Slowly, he opened them again and looked down at the busy streets below, bustling with people going about their daily routines. The sun was still quite high, only a little past midday and he could hear birds singing sweetly overhead.

He should have gone back to the dojo about an hour before – he had already missed lunch (Not that he had missed much: Kaoru was cooking), but after the convocation he had had with Kenshin that morning, he was almost embarrassed to sit around with him just then. But he also needed some time to himself to think things over, to get the answers he needed just then. But try as he might, all he could find was more questions.

He growled in frustration and pulled at his hair. This whole situation was driving him mad. Kenshin was a complete enigma to him. What was wrong with him that made him go to such lengths to keep himself from giving or receiving feelings of love? It wasn't just the fact he had killed so many people during the Bakumatsu that he made it out to be – it was something more. But what was it? What was the Tragedy? He hit the back of his head against the tree in frustration and opened his eyes again, watching the branches sway in the breeze. _Can I still save my family, if I can't even fix a problem like this?_

He screwed up his eyes against the tears of despair and frustration he felt welling up. He hated this, hated being in a world where he felt so helpless to do anything. How could Tomoe have given him such a duty, when he couldn't handle it alone? A tear escaped and slid down his face, despite it all. He just couldn't do this alone…

"Konnichiwa, Shinya"

Shinya jumped violently and looked up to find a familiar pare of dark eyes gazing back down at him. He stared, open-mouthed. "T-Tomoe-san! W-what are you doing here?"

Tomoe smiled softly and sat down next to him, looking down towards the town. "I came because I thought that I could help you in the task." She said gently.

Shinya blushed slightly and took the opportunity wiped his tears away roughly with the corner of his sleeve. They sat together silently, neither talking for a moment. At length, Shinya spoke.

"I thought that… you couldn't come through the well too. I thought that was why you needed me to sort all this out"

Tomoe glanced at him, but his amethyst eyes were fixed on the town. "No. I needed your help because I cannot physically do anything to help anymore. I needed someone who could help them, if they need it."

Shinya reached into the front of his gi and brought out the sapphire talisman, which glinted softly in the sun. He carefully held it in his hands, gazing at its delicate colours. Quietly he whispered "I can't do this on my own, Tomoe-san. I don't know what to do. You once told me, on the way to the train-station, back in my time, that you had once known Kenshin during the Bakumatsu. Something happened to him then, didn't it? Some tragic event that greatly effected him, but I don't know what. But whatever it was, it's laying heavily on him, stopping him from giving his heart to Kaoru, even though he loves her deeply." He took a deep breath and looked up at the ghost, his eyes pleading. "Tomoe-san, if you know what it was that happened, please tell me, because if you don't, I'm not sure I'll be able to do anything to help."

Tomoe watched him for a moment before she stood and turned her back to him. Slowly she rubbed her arm. In a voice barely above a whisper, she said, "When Kenshin and I first met, it was after Akira had been killed while protecting one of the Shogunate officials from the Ishin Shishi. I had travelled to Kyoto, hoping to find the Hitokiri who had killed him – Himura the Battosai – and get revenge for his death. The day I reached Kyoto, I stayed at an inn, but I drunk a little too much that night. There were some men around and they tried to harass me. But before they could do anything to me, Kenshin stepped in and saved me. Of course, I knew he was the Battosai from his hair and the scar that Akira had left on his cheek. But he was only a little older than you are now, still a child. It confused me. I followed him and caught up to him just in time to see him being attacked. Kenshin managed to kill the attacker and made it rain blood. At the time, I had thought it couldn't be done; yet he had made the blood rain.

"I fainted soon after that, but when I came to, I found myself in an inn, which I found out was a base of the Choshu Ishin Shishi, in the room that Kenshin used. I found out from Okami-san – the woman who ran the inn – Kenshin had brought me back, rather than have me killed. After that I helped around the inn.

"One of the men, I discovered was a traitor to the Ishin Shishi, but because I still wanted revenge for Akira's death, I made a deal with him that I would find Kenshin's weak point. But as time went on, I discovered that Kenshin hated what he had to do, hated those black envelopes that told him who his next target was. It was slowly dropping him into insanity. I was beginning to care for him by then and I tried to help him out. Then when Kenshin was out on an assassination, his commander, Kogoro Katsura, visited me and told me that since I had been around, Kenshin had been slowly coming back from the brink. I decided from then on that I would be a sheath against his madness and, instead of trying to kill him, I would try to bring back the man who Kenshin had once been. That way, I would be 'killing' the Battosai, but not Kenshin.

"Not long after what became known as the 'Ikedaya incident' – when the Shinsengumi went about to massacre Ishin Shishi leaders in June 1864 – Kenshin and I were forced into hiding in a village known as Otsu, as a young married couple. Instead, we decided to actually marry and for several months we lived together. Kenshin and I made a garden and he posed as a medicine seller. Sometimes the local children used to come and play with him" she laughed softly at the memory "I was so happy then, we both were. We had fallen in love.

"But after my little brother, Enishi, arrived, I found out that the men I said I would help were going to attack Kenshin. I left in order to save him, but in the end, Kenshin was drawn into a fight against many men. They had used some explosives that had him half blind and deaf, and he couldn't read ki very well because of the forest. By the point he reached the place I was, Kenshin was weakened and the other man had the advantage. To save Kenshin, I jumped in front of the man to confuse him, so Kenshin would win" her voice had grown weaker now and she placed a hand lightly over her shoulder. "Kenshin's sword killed the man, but it also killed me as well"

Shinya stared up at her, his eyes wide, horrified. Tomoe looked into the sky and whispered "before I died, I gave Kenshin the last part of his scar, so he would always remember me, and the promise I asked him to give to me. The promises that he would stay alive, so he could one-day find happiness once more. I did it to stop him from falling into madness because he had killed me. After that point, Kenshin decided he wouldn't be an assassin any more, and it was also when he decided that, after the Bakumatsu he would never kill again…"

Shinya wiped away the tears that had begun to fall and looked down at his talisman once more. Kenshin had accidentally killed his own wife - 'Tragedy' was not the word. How had Kenshin managed to live for so long, knowing he had caused the death of a loved one, despite having given Tomoe his word?

"I suppose I can see now why he would feel he doesn't deserve love again." Shinya whispered. "I can see why he feels the way he does now. But still," Determinedly he grasped the talisman in his fist "it wasn't his fault! He's gotta stop blaming himself!"

He stood up and faced back towards the dojo. "Tomoe-san, thanks for telling me. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do, but I'll try my best. Perhaps I can find some way, but…"

"You'll find a way"

"Thanks for the faith." He managed to laugh. "But I can only do so much. Kenshin has to come to realise the rest on his own."

With a small bow to Tomoe, he walked down the hill, still deep in thought about what he had heard. Pondering what he had to do.

0

Kaoru glanced around the garden for any sign of Shinya. It was passed lunchtime and he had still not been seen. But the only people she could see was Sanosuke, who was dozing in the sun, Yahiko, who was brushing the floor and grumbling about Kaoru's orders, while Kenshin had gone down to the town to buy more groceries – Shinya was nowhere to be seen.

"Stop worrying, Jou-chan," Sanosuke said with his trademark fishbone in his mouth, "I'm sure he'll be back soon"

"I know," she sighed "It's just that he left so suddenly. I was wondering what was wrong. Hey, tell me if he comes, okay, Sanosuke?" With one last glance towards the gate, she went back in the house again

Sanosuke frowned a bit. There was definitely something strange about that kid. But he wasn't sure what exactly. He jumped slightly as he heard the gate creak open and glanced up. Shinya had just walked through, his face thoughtful, his eyes covered by his dark bangs. Sanosuke leaped to his feet. "You idiot! Where the hell have you been?"

Shinya gave him a look that was cross between hurtful and annoyed "Well, 'hello' to you too." He grumbled. "I just wanted to have a walk."

"Teh"

"Where's the trust?" Shinya pouted

"With you, Ko-oni, none"

"Oh, an Imp, am I? Well, that's not very nice is it, Ondori?" He said good-naturedly.

"Well, now you're back, are you gonna tell us what that was all about this morning?" Yahiko had just wandered up and was watching him with suspicion. Shinya fell over anime style.

Sitting up again, he regained his composure. "So…um… you saw, did you?" Shinya smiled nervously. "It was nothing really…" But the dangerous looks on their faces quickly made him reconsider. He raised his hands in defeat. "Alright! Jeez!" He stood up again slowly and sighed. "I was just sick of seeing them act like that. I bet everyone knows they've got feelings for each other but them. They're good people, and I didn't want them to suffer." He glared daggers at them "happy now?"

Sanosuke and Yahiko looked embarrassed at each other. "Sorry." Yahiko mumbled.

"No harm done" Shinya smiled again. "I don't truly get offended."

Just then, the gate opened again and Kenshin came through. They watched as he walked half way towards the dojo before Kaoru ran down towards him, all smiles. The watched as the started talking and headed back up to the dojo again. They listened as Kaoru laughed at something he said. All three sighed.

"They're hopeless…" Yahiko grumbled

"Wanna try do something about that?" Shinya asked. The other two glanced at him. Shinya was watching where Kenshin and Kaoru disappeared into the dojo quite innocently, but his eyes sparkled mischievously.

"What are you scheming now, Ko-oni?" Sanosuke asked suspiciously. Shinya just grinned impishly.

"How about we try to get them together?"

"Ya mean like, secretly play matchmaker or something" Yahiko pondered out loud. The thought seemed to strike both of them at once, like the light bulb had turned on. Shinya could almost see the cogs wiring in their heads. Twin devilish smiles broke on their faces.

"Exactly. If we don't do something, they'll never get round to it. It's Operation: Get-together, Minna!"

From inside the dojo, Kenshin and Kaoru could hear the three guys laugh slightly maniacally and they glanced at each other uneasily. Why did they have the sudden feeling that they were going to be in for some trouble sometime soon?

"Oro…"

To be continued…

Chosha notes: Well, a shorter chapter than the others, so to anyone who loves longer chapters, Gomennasai! So, apart from Angst near the beginning and a few spoilers for the Samurai x stories (and the flashback in the Manga, of course), we also have a tastier of what is to come from the trio of Sanosuke, Yahiko and Shinya!

For anyone who doesn't know, I used a few Japanese words. 'Ondori' means 'Rooster' in Japanese (sometimes people use 'Tori-atama' as Sano's nickname, which means bird-head). 'Ko-oni', as Shinya says, means 'Imp'. I decided to use the version for a small devil, rather than mischievous child, partly because it sounds better, and partly because Shinya has a similar 'demented personality' as Megumi – or so Sano would say anyways!

Another thing is that, though Shinya comes from the future, he has only heard stuff about the Hitokiri Battosai in Legends and that book his mom gave him. Unlike us, who have the story in manga and anime, Shinya is from a place where Rurouni Kenshin is factual. So in that case, Shinya would not have known about Tomoe's connection with Kenshin and it would have been a mystery to him – one getting in the way of his 'mission'. So asking Tomoe for help was the only way Shinya could find out. Any comments would be welcome, though. So, how was it, Minna? Good, bad? You just keep those reviews coming! We're always happy to get constructive comments!

Next time on 'Fading Futures'

Sano, Yahiko and Shinya begin plotting and Kenshin and Kaoru find themselves in a few embarrassing situations. But are they just accidents and coincidence that it's just them with 'bad' luck? Find out on the next chapter of Fading Futures: '_Accidents Happen'_

Mata Aimasho, Minna-san! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	8. Chapter 8

A.N. Welcome back, Minna-san, to my eighth chapter in the world of '_Fading Futures'_. I want to thank everyone who read my fic so far and is now giving this chapter a go too, so arigato gozaimasu! And an even bigger thanks to Beth-kun, Hitokiri Taijiya and Jodibetz for your reviews. You're making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I really didn't think I would get such responses for my first fanfic, you know?

Jodibetz: Just to answer the thing about Shinya being a little two serious. If you remember the story Shinya told back in chapter six, he did mention, in thought, that it wasn't completely a lie. That did actually happen to him, but he did have to change the story a little bit to make it fit into his 'I'm really from Yokohama' story, so they wouldn't think him mad. I mean, would you believe it if someone you just met told you he was from the future and was sent back to save the family by playing matchmaker? Lol! Plus with everything else that's going on for him. You have to remember this whole thing has his family and his own existence on the line. It would be enough to make anyone act a little too seriously, ne?

Beth-kun: Well, actually, I wrote a whole story board to begin with (Heh!). I know exactly where I want this to go. I just hope I don't disappoint anyone. I do promise some action in the near future though.

Hitokiri Taijiya: Well, I thought it would create a few question marks. I have a lot of stuff lined up for them. Kenshin and Kaoru, you have been warned. Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

Hope you like this Chapter!

Disclaimer: Sessha doesn't… Oh whatever! Just read the ones in the previous chapters. The same things apply here!

Last time on fading futures:

Shinya discovers the story behind Kenshin and Sano and Yahiko become partners in crime with Shinya in, as Shinya calls it 'Operation: get together'

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Eight

Accidents Happen

The sun rose like a golden orb over Tokyo, spreading its golden rays over the still town. As the February sun rose over the waters of the river, it was set alight with thousends of tiny diamonds, glistening silver and gold. Throughout the town, the birds began to sing to the dawn in the skies, while down below people stirred in their beds, rising to greet the new day. Along the roads it was peaceful, very few up yet but merchants setting up their stalls ready for the trickle of customers to begin.

So quiet. So peaceful.

The sun made its way to the dojo belonging to Kaoru Kamiya, landing softly to warm the back of the only dojo resident who was standing in the garden. Kenshin Himura took a deep breath as he stood up and stretched. Unlike the rest of Tokyo, Kenshin had already been up for several hours, getting the chores for the morning done. He had already dressed in his usual magenta gi and white hakama. In the kitchen, breakfast of Miso soup was simmering gently, a larger quantity than usual (Sanosuke had decided to grace the dojo residents with his presence and had stayed in the spare room the night before). Now Kenshin was just finishing doing the morning laundry, which hung on the line, flapping gently in the early morning sun, white as snow.

It was just as he was finishing up on the laundry when he heard it. The low, insistent whispers people used when they were conspiring to do something. Frowning, Kenshin followed the sounds around towards the front of the dojo. His eyes widened at the sight.

Before him stood Sanosuke, dressed in his usual white with the Aku symbol on the back. Sitting on the porch was Yahiko, still in his night yukata and Shinya, dressed in a royal blue gi and off-white hakama, sitting cross-legged next to him. Each was leaning in as Shinya speed-whispered something he couldn't quite hear. Whatever it was, though, clearly had the other two very amused. However, as Kenshin rounded the corner, Shinya cut off.

"Ohayo Kenshin" the boy said cheerfully with a wave.

Kenshin stared for a moment. "O-ohayo Shinya" he managed. He glanced back at Sanosuke and Yahiko. Were they sick or something? Since when did _they_ get up so early. However, before Kenshin could express that thought, Shinya spoke again lightly.

"I was just telling them this funny story I was going to tell them last night, but never go round to it. Really, you should come listen to it at some point."

A story? They got up early to hear Shinya tell a _story_! Kenshin definitely smelt a rat, but Shinya's face didn't show anything beside a cheerful smile. But something fishy was going on. "It must be some story, that it must" he said finally "for you to want to get up so early to hear it"

However, they were spared having to answer when Kaoru appeared at the door. "Ohayo Minna" she said, rubbing her eyes. Low blood pressure. Figures. "What's for breakfast, Kenshin?"

Breakfast! How could he have forgotten about breakfast! Kenshin quickly told her as he dashed off to rescue the miso soup from burning, Kaoru quickly leaving to help set up the table. As they left, Shinya let out a deep breath.

"Kami, I thought he got us there for a minute." Shinya said breathlessly

"He's on to us" Yahiko added, "we gotta be careful. You think you can pull it off?"

Shinya's eyes glinted mischievously. If you looked close enough, you would have been able to see two little devil horns peaking up out of his unruly, jet-black hair. "Pa-lease, you're talking to the master of this stuff. Trust me."

Sanosuke winced. "Kami, Ko-oni's worse than the Kitsune. He's totally demented."

"Shaddup, Ondori-atama!"

o0o

It wasn't long before the table was laid and the Kamiya dojo residents were gathered round as Kenshin handed each of them green tea and started to dish out the miso soup. Each took the soup with a thanks (though Yahiko nearly snapped Kenshin's hand off when taking it, he was that hungry). As Kenshin went back to get the last bowls for himself and Kaoru, a fight broke out across the table. It seemed that the tall, ex-gangster had taken the rice-ball that Yahiko had claimed his only seconds before.

"Rrgh," growled Kaoru, her fists clenched and hand resting dangerously closed to her brokken. The vain throbbed as the fight continued.

Just as Kaoru was about to lose patience with the two, Kenshin made his way back in, watching the scene before him as if dreading missiles would be thrown in his direction. No one noticed Shinya watching Kenshin's movements out of the corners of his eyes. No one noticed how he mouthed under his breath 'Just a little farther…' Just as Kenshin got close to Kaoru, Shinya lay his leg in wait.

Wump! Bang! Kenshin tripped over the outstretched leg, bowls went flying, raining miso soup. Kenshin outstretched his hands to stop him from falling and grabbed the wall just in time… to land millimetres away from Kaoru's startled face.

Kenshin stared, wide eyed into startled sapphire, his face turning ten shades of red, somehow rivalling his hair in crimson. He was so close to her, close enough to breathe in the soft sent of jasmine that sent his head in a spin. Kenshin had to swallow to suppress the sudden urge to press his lips against hers.

Kaoru wasn't faring any better. Face glowing in a way that she was sure lit up the whole room, she sat, dazed, feeling the heat of his face, smelling the soft sent of pine-trees and, well, Kenshin. Her heart was beating a million miles an hour; she could feel in thumping against her ribs. Was he going to kiss her? Around them, all was silent, so focused they were on each other. Time had stopped.

Meanwhile, Shinya sipped his tea as if nothing had happened. The only thing that showed him to be guilty was the tiny, minuscule smile, hidden behind the cup at his lips.

Finally, Kenshin blinked. The spell was broken. Time began to move once more.

"Ano… Kaoru-dono… Gomennasai…" Kami, he couldn't even think straight while shrouded in her soft, sweet sent. Reluctantly, he moved away, blushing furiously. Kaoru stared.

_Oh, he's blushing! Kawaii! _

The part of her mind that was not so dazed reminded her that this, admittedly cute redhead had just spoken and she could finally breathe. "That's okay…Kenshin" she breathed, though deep inside her she was disappointed. She had wished he had kissed her.

Kaoru suddenly heard it – soft sniggering coming from the table. Both the rurouni and Kenjutsu instructor looked round to see Sano and Yahiko trying not to laugh. However, as soon as they made eye contact, the floodgates opened and the two roared with laughter.

"Wow…" Yahiko snickered, "when you fall for someone… you really do fall for 'em!" before dissolving into laughter again.

"Oro!" Kenshin turned bright red. Kami, he couldn't even remember the last time that he had blushed so much.

Kaoru was also turning red - this time from anger. "Mou! When I get my hands on you…!"

Sano and Yahiko bolted as Kaoru ran after them, whacking them hard over the head. Kenshin ran after them to stop Kaoru from beating them senseless. Shinya, on the other hand, was a little disappointed by the way it had turned out, but then again, he reminded himself, he hadn't been expecting those type of results just yet. There was still time yet for that…

o0o

It was a few days later when they got the chance again. Kaoru had dropped any suspicions she had with them and was back to normal again. It was a sunny day, quite warm for February time and the Kenshin-Gumi were sitting outside. Kenshin was sitting by the well doing the laundry; Sano wasn't there, he had gone out somewhere with a group of his friends (probably to make a longer debt by gambling again). Kaoru was sweeping the floors and Yahiko was practising kata with Shinya. It was as they almost finished practice when Doctor Gensai and his two granddaughters arrived.

Shinya glanced up as he waved a Konnichiwa to everyone. He watched as the two girls ran in yelling "Kennii!" and threw themselves at Kenshin, who laughed at their enthusiasm. Shinya, though he had seen Ayame and Suzume plenty of times over the few weeks he had been among the group, he had never seen Dr Gensai.

Dr Gensai was about Shinya's height with grey hair beneath a bandanna and a friendly face with warm, dark eyes. He had just come to drop his granddaughters off, as he had to go out of town to visit someone who was sick. Shinya nodded in greeting to the man and continued practice with Yahiko. Suddenly he stopped, an idea forming in his head. A second later he felt a sharp pain as Yahiko brought his Shinai down on top.

"Ow!" He yelped, hands jumping to his head to soothe the lump now forming.

"Gomen." Yahiko said "Kami, why you stop?"

Rubbing his head, Shinya grabbed the younger boy by the arm and dragged him round the other side of the dojo, flashing a glance at Kaoru and Kenshin to make sure they didn't notice.

As soon as they were out of sight, Shinya whispered, "I just had another idea for Operation: get together"

Yahiko immediately started to grin and lean in closer to hear. Hurriedly, Shinya whispered his plan. Finally, he said, "…but when you've done, don't forget to try to act normally, but wait a little. If you don't act normal, they'll get suspicious, but if you don't wait a bit, it won't do us any good either. You think you can do it?"

Yahiko smirked "I'm Yahiko Myojin of Tokyo. 'Course I can do it!"

Shinya grinned. "I knew I could count on you"

Silently, the two peered round the corner and, noticing no one was looking, they walked back into the yard again. Immediately, they got to work. Shinya and Yahiko told Kaoru they were done and asked the two girls if they wanted to play a new game with them while 'Kennii' was finishing the washing. Of course, the girls agreed enthusiastically and Yahiko took them to one side.

"What's the game Yahiko-nii?" Asked Ayame.

Yahiko smiled. "The game is called 'cupid'"

"Cupid?" the girls looked both confused and excited.

"Yep. In this game, the rules are…" and Yahiko hurriedly explained the rules to the two excited children, while Shinya watched out, making sure the two unsuspecting victims were unaware of their plans for them.

o0o

Kaoru glanced up from her sweeping, surprised by the lack of sound. Apart from the occasional, soft splash as Kenshin scrubbed at the stains, and the soft sweep of her brush along the path, everything was silent. She was only a little worried though. Both Ayame and Suzume were with Yahiko and Shinya – both of whom were good with a Shinai now. Nothing to worry about.

How wrong she was.

As Kaoru continued to sweep again, humming a soft tune, Ayame and Suzume began to creep up to her. Yahiko had warned them to be very quiet, or they would lose the game, so they stayed silent, creeping like cats on their mouse-prey. Kaoru stood quite close to the red haired swordsman, neither moving. Silent, quiet…

"BOO!" the girls caught the raven-haired woman off guard and with a loud "EPP!" she tripped and fell with a splash straight into the tub, toppling soapy water and clean clothes all over the place, landing head first into Kenshin.

Kaoru flushed furiously as she realised what had happened. Both she and Kenshin were soaked with sudsy water. Kenshin had fallen backwards, Kaoru landing on top of him, her face pressed into the v of his magenta gi. Hard, muscular, it was pressed against her face. She could feel the muscles ripple through it like a leopards. Kami, you wouldn't have thought it, just by looking at him. She could smell the soft, woodsy, masculine sent, making her feel so dazed. Kenshin, wide-eyed, fuzzily realised that the girl he loved most in the world was, at this very moment, lying on top of him, her face (soft, so soft) pressed against his chest. Both of them soaked.

Yahiko laughed after a moment. "Jeez, Ugly, you got it Bad if you're trying to get you both out of you clothes!"

Kaoru's head snapped up, almost nutting Kenshin in the process. "Yahiko!" She jumped up, her face roughly matching the hue of a fire engine. She couldn't believe it. She had just spent Kami knows how long with her face pressed into his chest. She felt like she wanted to die!

Or better yet… she glowered at the two boys laughing. She began to roll back her sleeves. The two boys immediately shut up. With an "eep!" they bolted, a raging Tanooki behind yelling, "get back here you jerks!"

o0o

Shinya sighed as he walked back towards the dojo. Kenshin had been busy cleaning all the clothes that they had got dirty and Kaoru was entertaining Ayame and Suzume. Yahiko had to go to work at the Akebeko and Sano hadn't come to the dojo yet, still doing whatever he was doing. That left Shinya as the only dojo resident left to go down town and do the shopping. Resting on his shoulders were two buckets hanging from the pole supported by his slim shoulders. They groaned under the weight of the contents.

_Miso, salt, soy sauce_, he grumbled. _Did she really need to buy it all at once?_ His shoulders were killing him. Unlike Kenshin, Shinya was not a full-grown man and, while he was rather toned and built like an athlete, Shinya was not built to carry heavy things for long.

With a sigh, Shinya set the buckets down and massaged his sore shoulders. The sun was warm on his back and he leaned against a tree, wiping the sweat from his brow. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that it was summer. He'd only rest a little while before he had to continue to the dojo, or Kaoru would have his head, but he intended to make the most of his resting time.

It was while he was sitting there, eyes closed as he felt a soft wind caress his face when a shadow fell across him. Frowning, Shinya opened his eyes to find Sanosuke standing over him, his trademark fishbone sticking out of his mouth. When he saw violet eyes flicker open he smirked

"Mornin' sleepy head"

Shinya stuck his tongue out and stood up, dusting off his hakama with a hand. "So, where have you been?" he said accusingly, "running up more dept's at the Shuei-ya?"

"Ha, ha. No I wasn't (though I did lose a couple of sen…)"

Shinya rolled his eyes and picked up the buckets again. "So, you coming to the dojo again?"

"Yeah." Sanosuke smirked "seems like I've been missing out on the fun. I saw Yahiko in the Akebeko" he added, seeing Shinya's confusion.

"Oh. Been putting more lunches on your tab? I feel sorry for Tae-san"

Sanosuke glared at him but continued. "Looks like you gave Jou-chan and Kenshin a bit of a dunking. What you got planned for next 'fall', Ko-oni? You gonna get them falling into each other when Kenshin wakes Kaoru?"

Shinya grinned "Tempting, but no. We've gotta stop this 'push one into the other' stuff. If we keep it up, they'll get suspicious of us. We have to come up with some more tactics"

Sanosuke looked startled "Tactics? Are you a Gunshou or something? You make it sound like we're at war!"

Shinya looked up at him gravely. "In a sense, we are at war, Ondori. The enemy is fear. And, just with any enemy, you have to overcome it. If Kenshin and Kaoru are going to get anywhere fast, they first have to overcome their fears. Only when the enemy is defeated can they truly find happiness."

Sanosuke stared at Shinya. Just then, he reminded him of a curtain redheaded rurouni. Shinya caught the stare, how he looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. Quickly, Shinya flashed him a big smile and said, "at least, that's what I've been told!"

Sanosuke fell over anime style.

Recovering, Sanosuke said, "So what do you have in mind?"

Shinya shrugged. "Dunno yet. Kenshin and Kaoru are more…difficult than some of my other friends were when I played matchmaker with them, but I'm sure that an idea will come…" Shinya trailed off as they rounded a corner. There, sitting in the branches of a sakura tree was Kaoru. Dressed in her white gi and dark blue hakama of an assistant master of Kenjutsu, She sat with her legs dangling down, her back to them. Resting against the thick trunk of the tree was a wooden ladder. Shinya noted that the ladder was considerably less stable than the metal step ladders back in his own time. Kaoru had, so far, not yet seen the two.

Sanosuke was just about to yell to her when inspiration struck. Quickly, Shinya jumped up and stopped him.

"Wha-?" Sanosuke started, but caught that mischievous gleam in those amethyst eyes. He frowned. "What are you scheming now, Ko-oni?"

Shinya smiled, looking back to Kaoru, who was still oblivious to their presence. "Just something that'll get Kenshin looking for Kaoru. It could be an opportunity to get them alone, but not in a pushy way."

Sanosuke, being the rather slow-minded person, looked confused, so Shinya elaborated. "Do you think you could knock the ladder over without actually going to it? You know, like throwing a rock at it or something?"

Understanding took his face and broke into a grin "No problem" scanning the undergrowth Sanosuke found a good sized and shaped stone, testing it in his hands. He took careful aim and threw it. At first, Shinya thought it was going to miss, but it struck the side of the ladder. The wooden frame wobbled, teetered on its ends and fell, its landing muffled slightly by the grass.

"I guess you're good for something, Ondori" Shinya chuckled

"Shut it, Ko-oni"

"Come on. We'd better go to the dojo now. Just remember: if Kenshin asks, we didn't see Kaoru. Kenshin'll be able to find her, but he'll get suspicious if we said we saw her and didn't help her out."

Silently, Sanosuke and Shinya slipped away.

o0o

Kenshin was panicking.

Not that he was the type of person who usually panic's. He had once been the most feared hitokiri of the Bakumatsu, whose name was, even after eleven years of Meiji, feared throughout Japan, spoken in whispers lest they call the demon upon them. He was once the Hitokiri Battosai. Yet even now he made a name for himself, though for a different meaning. Kenshin Himura, the rurouni, who had protected Tokyo from the corrupted police swordsmen, who had helped stop the Jinpuu squad. He was the wanderer who had stopped the Shinko style from taking over Izu, who had prevented Shishio from breaking up the whole country with his Juppon Katana in Kyoto. Kenshin was not a man who usually gets scared.

Just then he was.

It was getting late. Shinya and Sanosuke had returned, Shinya having found Sanosuke on the way back from the grocery shopping and Yahiko was still out at the Akebeko on a late shift. However, there was still one person who was not accounted for. Kaoru had gone for a walk earlier that day after Kenshin had finished the laundry. He had offered to look after Ayame and Suzume until she came back. Kenshin hadn't minded. He would do anything for Kaoru.

However, that had been several hours ago and the sun was starting to dip lower in the sky. Still, she had not returned to the dojo. Shinya, looking concerned, had told him they hadn't seen Kaoru at all coming home from shopping. Kenshin knew he probably shouldn't worry about Kaoru. She was the assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu. It wasn't like she was helpless. But as the sun was beginning to fall behind the horizon, Kenshin couldn't stand it any more. What if she was hurt? What if someone had attacked her? What if she was…?

Abruptly, Kenshin stood, surprising the other two as he shook the table. "Sessha is going to look for Kaoru-dono" he said simply to the stunned Shinya and Sanosuke before leaving through the house and out of the gates before you could say 'Doryusen'.

Ko-oni and Rooster watched the space Kenshin just left. Sanosuke gave a low whistle. Shinya just smiled. "Told you it would work" he said smugly.

Meanwhile, Kenshin extended his ki sense as far as it would go, looking for the soft ki of the kenjutsu instructor, feeling for any sign of danger, any fear. His heart was thudding wildly until –

There!

Kaoru's ki flickered between annoyance, wiry humour and a little fear, but it didn't seem like she was being attacked. Merely…stuck?

Kenshin followed the ki to a large, sturdy sakura tree close to the river. There, sitting in its branches, shivering, was Kaoru. Throat sore from shouting, shivering from cold and feeling more than a little hungry, she sat between the lowest branch and the trunk, knees drawn up and arms wrapped around them. Kenshin spotted a ladder, fallen to the ground. Looking up, it was obvious that it was too high to just jump down without causing a serious injury.

As Kenshin came into view, Kaoru's sapphire eyes brightened. "Kenshin!"

"Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin picked up the ladder and lent it back against the tree. "Hold on, Sessha will help get you down"

Holding the ladder steady, Kenshin watched as Kaoru began to descend the rugs slowly. Kenshin noticed that she was trembling. He suddenly remembered she was afraid of heights. When the Gumi had gone to Izu last year for a holiday at Hana's home, Hana – Dr Gensai's little sister – was going to meet them across the bridge, over a river deep in a canyon. Kaoru had been terrified and nearly fainted before they had even crossed the bridge.

(Chosha's note: This happens in the episode where they meet Yutaro and Raijuta – but only in the Anime, episode 18)

Idly, he wondered why Kaoru was up there at all.

Just as Kaoru was half way down the ladder, Kaoru's foot put weight on a slightly broken rug. That slight extra weight caused the rug to break with a loud crack. Kaoru screamed and fell backwards, but Kenshin quickly caught her, placing himself between her and the hard ground. With a loud thud, the two fell to the floor.

Kaoru groaned and sat up, her hand resting on something hard and yet soft all at the same time. Confused sapphire met dazed violet. Kaoru blushed ten shades of red. She was sitting on Kenshin, who was sprawled out under her, her hand resting against his hard chest. She blushed even more crimson when she realised she was just staring at him. With an 'Eep', Kaoru scrambled off him.

"Kenshin! Sumimasen!"

Kenshin slowly levered himself of the ground and dusted the dirt from his gi and hakama (now he remembered why he always seems to be doing the laundry. It was little wonder, considering.) "That's okay, Kaoru-dono, that it is. As long as you're not hurt" carefully he straightened his gi, noticing that he would need to wash this one soon. "If Sessha may, why were you up a tree, Kaoru-dono?"

Kaoru blushed "I was siting, thinking… When my father was alive, he used to take me down here and he used to show me this wonderful thing. He could make a bird come down and sit on his palm. I wanted to do it, but it always used to fly away. But father used to keep helping me and in the end, I could do it too." She smiled wistfully. "I like to come here sometimes and remember that…" Suddenly, her eyes brightened. "Hey, do you want to try, Kenshin?"

Kenshin hesitated "Sessha doesn't…" however, when he looked into her face, he found he just couldn't say no. "Sessha would like to try, that he would. But Sessha is not sure he will be very good at it."

Kaoru smiled and indicated that he should sit down next to her. From inside her gi, she produced a packet of birdseed. Carefully she held the bag. "Hold out your hands" Kenshin did as he was told and cupped them in front of him. Kaoru tipped some of the birdseed into his palms. "Now, you have to be really gentle, or they won't trust you"

Kenshin looked down at his hands, his eyes covered with his scarlet bangs. "Sessha doesn't think he will be very good at this, that he does not" he whispered. Kaoru placed a hand on his knee, causing him to look up. Sapphire eyes held his own.

"You will, Kenshin. Even if you don't think so, you are gentle."

"Kaoru-dono…" but he stopped when Kaoru hushed him and directed his cupped hands outwards. They sat very still, neither of them moving. The seconds ticked by, but no birds came. Kenshin, downhearted, was about to tell Kaoru that he knew they wouldn't come, when a small bird fluttered down and landed on his cupped hands. It tilted its little head, beady black eyes staring at him, surprisingly bright. It cocked its head for a moment, listening, then began to peck at the seed in his hands. Kenshin stare in wide-eyed wonder at the sight. Kaoru's smile was radiant. "Kaoru-dono…" he breathed, but there was a sudden lump in his throat, preventing him from saying more.

"See?" she said, "That proves it. You are gentle, perhaps more than anyone, or me. You _are_ gentle, Kenshin."

Kenshin just watched the bird pecking the seed trustingly in his cupped hands, stubbornly refusing to let the tears gathering in his eyes to fall.

To be continued…

Chosha's Notes:

This was a bit of a hard chapter for me, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to give Kenshin and Kaoru a few…moments together. As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of the Kenshin/ Kaoru paring. That last part of the story, of Kenshin and Kaoru and the tree, I was inspired by the picture of Kenshin and Kaoru under the sakura tree.

If you think about it, Kenshin had been a wanderer for ten years after the war (he is now settled in the dojo, so isn't wandering any more though), but he has never let anyone close to him since then. Kenshin is guilt-ridden by what he did, so its not surprising that he would not think himself as 'gentle'. I thought it would be a good time for Kenshin to start realising this, along with Kaoru's feelings towards him and everything.

Originally, this chapter would have been combined to the next one. However, the next episode would be too long to add to this one. (Sessha is not saying anything…) One last thing - 'Gunshou' is some sort of military officer, but you probably already knew that…

So. How was this chapter? Good? Bad? Please REVIEW!

Next time on Fading Futures:

Shinya's irritated, Yahiko and Sano take up the matchmaking up to the next level and Kaoru and Kenshin find themselves in a bit of a predicament. What? Find out on the next episode: _Alone Time_

Mata Aimasho, Minna-san! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	9. Chapter 9

Chosha's notes:

Welcome back, Minna-san, to my eighth chapter in the world of '_Fading Futures'_. I have a little problem concerning a future chapter. I would like some suggestions for a song – a love song – that I can use. If you guys would be so kind, could you review and give me some suggestions, with Song-words or the address to where I could get the song-words from. I will be very, very happy if you could!

By the way, for those that don't know, I have also finished another fic – a one-shot called 'Behind those violet eyes' – my first go at a poem fanfiction. I hope you might give it a go too. I really could do with any comments or criticisms, seeing as I haven't even _attempted_ poetry since I was _eleven_!

Anywho, Thank you everyone who's reading my fic. Thank you especially to Beth-kun and Hitokiri Taijiya for your reviews. I mean it, you guys never seem to have a bad word for it! I'm glad you liked my last chapter. I was sort of afraid I had disappointed people with it. Glad to find I was wrong!

Hope you like this Chapter!

Disclaimer: I would get hit on the head with several shinai and a sakabato if I even tried to say I owned RuroKen (pouts), but Chosha Kurenai does not want to be knocked senseless… I don't own RuroKen, but Shinya and this story line are mine.

Last time on fading futures:

Shinya, Sanosuke and Yahiko teamed up to help Kenshin and Kaoru get together and the red-haired rurouni and the Tanooki also have a very KK Kodak moment. Awww!

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Nine

Alone Time

Shinya was sprawled across the porch of the dojo, his arms tucked behind his head as he watched the forms of cotton-like white clouds as they floated across the azure sky with disinterest. There were slightly more important things to think about – Like his ancestor's relationship, for instance. His violet eyes frowned with irritation. Things were just not going according to plan.

The tail ends of February had given way and the world had moved into springtime. The weather had grown warmer in celebration of its arrival. The branches of the trees had decorated themselves in a coat of sakura and haku baikou, their delicate blossoms intermingling as their soft scents perfumed the soft spring breeze. All over Tokyo the gardens flourished with a rainbow of new, rightly coloured flowers as bees gathered nectar in their tiny legs, while butterflies fluttered in the air like a dance. Birds of all shapes and sizes flew gracefully across the clear skies. The spring brought with it new love as animals and birds alike found life-long mates… in everywhere but the dojo of Kaoru Kamiya.

It had been several weeks since Kenshin had gone to 'save' Kaoru from being stuck in the tree and had shared a tender moment in each others company. But since then the whole thing had come to an abrupt halt. It wasn't from lack of trying. The poor red-haired rurouni and the Kasshin-ryu sensei had found themselves constantly in contact with each other… literally. Or they would suddenly find themselves with the dojo empty but for the two of them as the other dojo residents 'coincidentally' had other places to be. They found themselves tripping and falling into each other until they were almost afraid to leave the house in case more 'bad luck' decided to grace itself on them with its presence. Shinya had got so desperate; in fact, that he even found himself contemplating knocking one of them into the river after it had been flooded from a storm the previous day. However, he caught himself, immediately dismissing the idea. Accidentally killing one of them might just mess up the 'fix the past' stuff, he had reminded himself.

"We aren't doing too good, are we?" Grumbled Yahiko.

Shinya pulled his eyes way from a cloud that looked suspiciously like Tom Cruse to look at the young, spiky-haired samurai across from him. Yahiko sat with his legs dangling over the side of the porch, his chin resting in his hands as he looked across the garden in boredom, a rather comical pout on his face.

"Not totally true" Sanosuke interjected. He was leaning against one of the posts, trademark fishbone sticking out of the corner of his mouth. "I mean, think about it. They seemed to be doin' well when Jou-chan got stuck"

"Over two weeks ago" Shinya reminded him. "Those two are just plain difficult"

Shinya got up and stretched, suddenly feeling too restless to just lie around. Despite the warmth of the day, Shinya felt suddenly chilled and more than a little depressed. He needed to find somewhere to just be himself, to drop the act, to think. It would do him no good, however, to accidentally showing his worry and giving away the truth, along with everything else, but he needed some time alone.

With a mock pout to lighten the mood, Shinya said jokingly, "Oh stubborn baka as they are, I'm afraid it may take nothing short of locking them in the dojo till they hurry up about it." Shinya gave a laugh (he hoped it didn't sound too forced). "But Kami would they be mad!" He made his way towards the gate. With a cheery wave, Shinya said "Oh yeah, Kaoru asked me to get some Tofu for later – Kenshin's busy playing with Ayame and Suzume. I'll see you later"

However, Sanosuke wasn't listening as Shinya exited the dojo grounds. He had just had an idea that made him stop short. A mischievous grin came across his face. Yahiko, confused, couldn't help but ask, "Hey, what are you grinning about?"

Still grinning, Sanosuke said "I think Shinya's right. Kenshin and Jou-chan need a little time out. Come here, Yahiko-chan!"

"Don't call me CHAN!" Yahiko yelled, but found himself being hauled off by Sanosuke. "Hey! Put me down you stupid Ondori! Put me down!"

o0o

Kaoru was sitting in on the porch of the house. In one hand she held a cup of green tea, which gently steamed. In the other hand she held a novel. It was one of her old ones – she didn't have much money, living with four freeloaders and all – but it was also one of her favourites. It told a story about a swordsman, who fell in love with the princess of his Han in feudal times, but couldn't marry her, so were forced into a forbidden love. But when an evil daimyo of another Han made war and betrayed the peace-treaty after taking the princess, the swordsman had to go and stop the daimyo and rescue the princess with the help of a young farmer boy. The boy had been forced to fight against the evil daimyo, as there were not enough soldiers. (Chosha's notes: If you recognise this story from anywhere, you're probably right. This is actually based on the short story by Watsuki-sama in volume 6 of the manga!). Kaoru had liked this story since she was a child. She admired the swordsman and the farmer boy, even though the boy himself thought he was a coward.

She smiled as she thought about a curtain redhead who was never far from her thoughts. In a way, the swordsman kind of reminded her about Kenshin. Not in looks - where the swordsman was tall and, sort of looked like Hiko in armour, Kenshin had those dazzling Violet eyes and long, crimson hair that she longed to run her fingers through. No, what reminded her of Kenshin was the way he went to save the princess. It was that selflessness that reminded her of the rurouni.

Kaoru read the last few pages and sighed happily as she held the book to her chest. The princess and swordsman had kissed and were able to be together forever – a truly happy ending. Kaoru touched her own lips. She wished Kenshin would kiss her like that.

She had never been kissed before.

"Hey, Ugly"

Kaoru looked up, fuming. Yahiko had just come round the corner, Shinai resting on one shoulder. _Ooo, that little brat!_ Not only had he called her 'ugly', even after instructing him to stop it, but he had also interrupted her little daydream too.

"Yahiko! How many times do I have to tell you? Stop calling me Ugly!"

"Yeah, whatever, Ugly"

Faster than lightning, Kaoru was upon him, yanking the sides of his mouth. "You. Little. Brat" she growled as she pulled. Yahiko squirmed in her hands. Finally she let go, allowing Yahiko to rub his now aching cheeks.

"Hey! What was that for! I was only going to tell you what Kenshin said."

Kaoru immediately calmed. "What Kenshin said?" she repeated.

Yahiko rubbed his face. "Yeah. Kenshin said he wants to meet you in the dojo in a minute. Said he's got something important to tell you."

_Could it be…?_ Kaoru's heart thudded in her chest. Was he going to tell her, what she thought he was going to tell her? She hoped so. _Oh Kami please let it be true!_ Shooting thanks over her shoulder, Kaoru bolted towards the dojo in a cloud of dust, leaving a swirly-eyed Yahiko trampled into the floor in her wake.

Meanwhile, Kenshin glanced up from playing ball with Ayame and Suzume to see Sanosuke coming towards him. Sano also seemed to have a message for him - this time from Kaoru.

"Oro? A message from Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin inquired.

Hands in his pockets, Sanosuke nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Jou-chan asked me to find you. Seeing as I was coming this way anyway, I said I'd pass it on. Jou-chan says she wants to talk to you in the dojo. Something about having somethin' important to tell you."

Kenshin sat there completely stunned. Kaoru wanted to tell him something important? Could it be…? Kenshin could almost hear his blood pounding in his ears, hardly daring to believe. However, Sanosuke was his friend and a reliable one at that. Sano wouldn't lie to him about something like that, would he? Trying to contain his excitement, Kenshin turned to Sanosuke with a small smile. "Sessha will go, that he will. Arigato."

Kenshin set off, leaving Sanosuke to take care of Ayame and Suzume. As soon as Sano was out of sight, Kenshin bolted to the dojo, hoping beyond hope that this meant what he thought it meant.

When Kenshin arrived at the dojo, he found Kaoru already waiting for him. She wore a plain, sky-blue kimono that made her sapphire eyes seem an even deeper blue, a neat indigo obi tied about her slim waist, done into a complicated bow at the back. Her raven-dark hair was tied back into its usual ponytail with an indigo ribbon to match her obi. Kenshin couldn't help but think about Kaoru's favourite indigo ribbon that Kenshin had, unintentionally, ruined when his blood had soaked it during the battle with Jin-e. Kaoru had had to throw it away, though it was now in Kenshin's possession. It was a little of the girl that Kenshin knew he did not deserve, but couldn't live without.

Shutting the shoji behind him, Kenshin approached. Kaoru's smile was dazzling; he was surprised that he could even think straight in the presence of such an angel.

"Was there something you wanted to tell Sessha?"

Was it just his imagination, or did that smile slip a little? "Yahiko told me that You wanted to tell me something." She said, a little hint of impatience in her voice.

Kenshin frowned. "Sessha didn't ask Yahiko to do that. Sessha was told by Sano that _you_ wanted to see _Sessha_, that he did."

Kenshin and Kaoru were silent for a minute and winced when they realised that Sanosuke and Yahiko must have set them up. "Ooo, when I get my hands on them…" Kaoru growled, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. Kenshin was inclined to agree. If it weren't for the fact he had sworn a vow never to kill again, he would have throttled them himself!

Kenshin sighed and moved to open the door again to let them out and let out a startle 'Oro'. The door wouldn't budge. He tried again, harder this time, but it was shut tight. Behind him, Kaoru was getting impatient. "Mou, Kenshin! What is taking so long?"

Kenshin winced at her tone of voice. However, he turned round to face her. "Kaoru-dono, the door is locked."

Kaoru blinked. Then all hell broke loose.

"WHAAAAT!" she screamed "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THOSE FREELOADING JERKS, THEY ARE SO _DEAD_!"

o0o

"We are so dead!" wailed Yahiko as the dojo sign dropped from the gate as the vibrations of Kaoru's holler ran through the building like a miniature earthquake. "Couldn't you have at least picked a place where Kaoru wasn't within arms reach over every brokken in the place, stupid Ondori-atama!"

Sanosuke was inclined to agree. Not that he was going to tell him that…

"When we let them out they are going to be thanking us for giving them the chance to admit their love. Not that you would understand Yahiko-CHAN"

"Don't call me CHAN!" growled Yahiko as he landed on Sanosuke's head and began to gnaw at his hair.

"Ga! Gerroff, you're gonna give me split ends!"

"Yeah, well, with hair like that, a few split ends might be an improvement!" Yahiko countered.

"This looks like fun." Sanosuke and Yahiko whipped round to find Shinya coming through the gates, tofu in the bucket in his hands. He had heard the yelling and had to raise an eyebrow at the dojo sign on the floor, Yahiko gnawing at Sanosuke's head and the barricaded door to the dojo. "Ano… did I miss something?"

Sanosuke and Yahiko looked like naughty kids who were about to be scolded by their mother. "Well… nothing really…" they started. Why did Shinya already feel as if he already knew what had happened?

"Why is the dojo locked?"

"Oh, we were just…"

"Sano…"

Even Sanosuke had to wince at the warning tone in his voice. Even though he was nearly twice as tall as the violet-eyed boy was, he suddenly felt about six inches tall. Sanosuke gulped. "Well, I, erm, just followed some advice… and, ano, we locked them… in the dojo…" He finished in a very unmanly squeak.

Shinya's eyebrow twitched. Why did he have the sudden urge to burst out laughing? "You locked them… In the dojo…"

Sanosuke coughed. Suddenly, Yahiko thumped him on the head. "Yeah, and it was all his fault. And then he didn't even get rid of the bokkens in there, either. Kaoru's gonna kill us!"

He couldn't help it. From the looks on their faces to the muffled shouts coming from the dojo, the entire situation. Helplessly, Shinya doubled over as he started to laugh uncontrollably.

o0o

Night had fallen and everyone had retired to his respective rooms. Sanosuke, having nowhere else to bunk, used the spare room. Outside the sky was clear, the stars shinning like thousands of fireflies twinkling in the dark shadows of the night. From the house, Yahiko was snoring loudly and was quite audible even in the gardens of the dojo. Apart from the silvery glow of the moon and stars, there were no other lights to speak of. However, In the building of the dojo itself, a flickering golden light of a candle could be seen through the barred windows.

Kenshin and Kaoru sat at opposite ends of the dojo, gazing into the flickering flame of the candle. When they had found that they were locked into the dojo, and after Kaoru had finished her rant, the redhead and the kenjutsu sensei had found a single futon and blanket. Fully realising what Sanosuke and Yahiko had wanted them to do, they had spent the most of an hour turning every shade of red under the sun, before spending the better part of another hour arguing over who should have the futon and blanket with every excuse they could think of until they were reduced to 'you have it' 'no, you have it'. Finally, realising neither of them were going to back down, they had sat down and silently stared at the candle's flame, the only source of light in the room.

Kaoru risked a glance at the rurouni across from her. His face was shadowed by bangs of the richest crimson that framed his face. He sat with one leg drawn up to his chest, his sheathed sakabato resting against his shoulder, one hand resting loosely over the saya. The soft glow of the candle deepened the marks of his cross-shaped scar. Idly, she wondered how he came to get such a mark marrying his cheek. In all the time she had known him, he had never once mentioned his scar. Even though she had told him, when she first invited him to stay at the dojo, that she didn't care about his past, sometimes she wished she hadn't. Oh, it wasn't because she regretted asking him to stay, even after she had seen the reason he was called 'Battosai' for herself. It was just that if she even thought about asking him about the past, she would feel guilt-ridden for doing so. But she knew he might never tell her the secrets of the mysterious scar. She loved him. She wouldn't care what it was, if he told her. She would still love him. Her rurouni, yet no-body's Kenshin… Suddenly, she realised she was staring and quickly averted her eyes.

Kenshin, seeing the movement glanced up through his bangs to look at the slim girl opposite him. In the candlelight, her sapphire eyes shone like stars, her long, raven hair silky smooth in his mind eye. He wished he could run his fingers through that hair, but knew he shouldn't. She was pure, innocent, not stained by the blood of thousands. He never wanted to stain her with his bloody past, with his mistakes. He did not deserve such happiness, not after what he did to all those people. Not after what he did to… her.

"That be as it may," Shinya's voice spoke from the back of his head "does that also mean that Kaoru doesn't deserve that happiness too?"

Kenshin realised she was shivering. The night, even though it was mid-march, was still cold. Kenshin, of course, had lived through much worse during the revolution, even more so as a rurouni, so was used to the cool of the night. Kaoru, however, had not had to suffer through such conditions, so the night's chill clawed at her skin, making her shiver violently. Worry rushed through him. He did not want her to get sick.

"Kaoru-dono, you should use the blanket, that you should" He said softly. Kaoru shook her head stubbornly.

"No. That's not fair, Kenshin. Then you wouldn't have a blanket and you'd get cold."

Kenshin blinked. Was she really worrying that he'd be cold if she took the blanket? How could she be so selfless? After all, she had let him live in her home, eat her food. She had given him a reason to live after so long of feeling he had no reason to but a promise he made to the dead. She had given him so much without asking anything in return. The least he could do was let her use the blanket. So selfless, his Kaoru.

Suddenly, he squashed that thought. No, not his Kaoru. Never his Kaoru. She deserved better than a man like him. She deserved to be happy, to live with a man with a clean, un-blooded past.

Once more, a small voice came from the back of his mind. "If someone says those words before you, would you act like you are now? Could you watch while someone else has what you could have had? Then again, I don't think she could love anyone else. Could you let her live like that? With you, yet still all alone? You can't just walk away now, either, because it will break her heart. Kenshin, if not for your own sake, can't you tell her for her's? To protect her heart?"

Kenshin bit his lip and looked at Kaoru again, shivering miserably. He sighed. For now, for her sake – he would only do this for her, so she wouldn't be sick. Never for himself. Never would he do this for him.

With a deep breath, hopping she couldn't see him blushing like a teenager with his first crush, he said, "Then, why don't we… share?"

Kaoru looked up at him, wide-eyed. Quickly Kenshin continued before she could take it the wrong way. "Well, if we shared the blanket then the blanket and us will keep each other warm. But only if you want to do that, Kaoru-dono" He said all this very fast.

Kaoru blinked, stunned. Never had Kenshin said anything like this to her before, let himself get so close to her before. The only time he had ever done so was before the fireflies. The day he…left. Yet here he was, willingly letting her close. But now, Kenshin was not going to leave. He had made a promise he would never leave again. Okay, this was all to keep each other warm, but nevertheless, it made her heart swell with joy.

Quietly, she nodded. "Alright then."

Nervously, she went to retrieve the blanket from the top of the futon and went over to Kenshin. She sat by his side as Kenshin draped half the blanket over her shoulders, half over his own. Immediately, she felt the warmth of Kenshin's body, close to her own, fill her cold body with a warm sensation. Kaoru looked up at him sternly. "You had better not try anything hentai, Kenshin Himura"

"ORO!"

Kaoru laughed silently at the cute noise he made, feeling him blush. She knew Kenshin was an honourable man. He would never do anything like that. Kaoru frowned in the sheets. Sometimes he was entirely too honourable.

Kaoru felt her eyes droop. The sense of warmth flooding through her body, the soft, earthy sent of Kenshin, the strong arms that made her feel so safe, all left her feeling comfortably sleepy. With one last look at the rurouni's handsome face, she snuggled into his arm and was soon fast asleep.

Kenshin stiffened slightly as he felt Kaoru nestle into his arm. Glancing down, he saw her body relaxed against his, saw the even breathing of her chest. But Kami, her _smile_. Never could he remember her smile in such a way that almost stopped his heart out of longing. Truly, she was an angel. With love reflected in eyes of the deepest purple, deeper than they had ever been, Kenshin gazed upon her sleeping face. Unable to resist, Kenshin brushed his lips against her forehead, feeling the soft skin against his, feeling her sigh as she relaxed against him.

"Oyasumi… Kaoru…"

To be continued…

Chosha's notes:

I was going to have this chapter go up to when Sanosuke, Yahiko and Shinya let them out of the dojo, but when I got to this point, I thought, ending it on such a sweet note would be beautiful. I almost wanted Kaoru to wake up when Kenshin kissed her, and I'm the one writing the story!

Originally, this chapter was meant to be part of chapter eight, 'accidents happen', but then I realised that the chapter would have been twice as long as all the others! When I did get to this chapter, though, I was unsure how to get the two in the dojo in the first place. I wanted Yahiko and Sano to do something on their own, without taking orders from Shinya. I mean, come on! Since when do they follow orders? Besides, Shinya has just used up a month out of those few he has, so needs some time to cool off. He has also been keeping up an act with the Gumi, and I know that sometimes you just need a little time to yourself, so I gave Shinya a break. Hope you weren't too disappointed at all. It seems Shinya is being quite popular with those pranks of his, so I did let him give Sano the idea. I sort of feel sorry for them when Kaoru gets out though!

I found writing the beginning of this chapter rather funny. Think about it. I was writing about spring in November. How ironic is that? Put it this way, it got me out of those winter blues anyway! Heh! By the way, don't ask me about the cloud looking like Tom Cruse. I was kind of watching 'The Last Samurai' when I was writing the chapter, before I got it on the computer (that's what you get when you dear old dad decides you can't have the Internet at all. I have to post chapters in my breaks between lessons, or if my nee-chan is feeling generous and isn't at university anyway!)

Oh, one last thing. In case you haven't gathered, this fic is based a year after the Kyoto arc of the anime. Therefore, Kaoru and the others won't know about the Tomoe stuff yet, as the revenge arc doesn't occur in the anime…I think.

Next time on 'Fading Futures'

Kenshin and Kaoru finally get out of the dojo and the guys desperately think of a way to avoid being pummelled by Kaoru. Will they manage it? Find out on chapter ten, 'hidden gift'

Mata Aimasho, Minna-san! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	10. Chapter 10

Chosha's notes:

Sessha is Soooooooooooooo sorry it took so long to update! Usually I update every other day or so, but with mounding collage work, I'm stuck for time, so updates may be slower from now on – about every week or so. Still, it's much faster than some people. (Heh!) Anyway, welcome back to fading futures and my tenth chapter (Woah, my tenth? It seems like only yesterday when I was writing my first!). Thank you everyone who's stuck with it so far. It's making me really happy to know my first ever story is getting on so well! Also, thanks to my beloved reviewers, especially Beth-kun, the only one to review my last chapter. I'm not sure whether to take it as a good or bad sign…

Hey, I was thinking of doing a bloopers of fading futures, either as a second fic, or as an add-on to the end of my story. So its up to you guys to think of some cool bloopers for Shinya and the Kenshin-Gumi. I promise that I will read through all ideas and use the best ones I can. You could even dedicate them to someone! Of course, if this is a bad idea, you could also say so. You'll make Chosha-chan very happy with any ideas!

I hope you like this chapter! Please, please, PLEASE **REVIEW**!

Disclaimer: I would not be able to own Rurouni Kenshin even if it were on a day of a blue moon and its raining blood… Sigh. However, I can happily say that Shinya and any other character that does not appear in the anime or manga is mine.

Last time on fading futures:

Things get a little out of hand for Kenshin and Kaoru when Sanosuke acts on a joke made by Shinya, which results in the rurouni and tanooki being locked in the dojo. However, things seem to be going on between the two now…

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Ten

Hidden gift

Kaoru did not want to get up. She felt so warm, relaxed, so comfortable in the oblivion of sleep. She snuggled deeper into the covers, trying to recapture that wonderful dream she had been having, but it was no use. Outside she could hear the tweeting of birds and could feel the sun's rays shinning on her face. She could feel something soft, yet hard against her side. Slowly, she let her eyes flutter open and bit back a gasp. She was in an empty dojo, the remnants of a candle sat in its holder, having burned down to the last of its wick. She wasn't lying in her futon, but lent against something warm. Around her shoulders was a blanket.

_What the…?_

Kaoru felt something stir against her and she looked down. Her heart skipped a beat. There, leaning against the wall, was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Kenshin was lying asleep, head tilted to one side. Kaoru couldn't help but stare, drinking in the sight of him. She had never really had time to study his face before – except that one time when he had been unconscious after he had returned from fighting from Shishio. However, that time she was too busy worrying about whether he would pull through, scared that he wouldn't, frightened he would remain unconscious forever and leave her… alone… Now, however, she was locked in the dojo with him and Kenshin was merely asleep, not hurt. Now she had the chance, she was fully intending to use it.

She'd always sort of seen that he was handsome… okay so he was beautiful, but up close like this with his face serene and devoid of all expression save peace, he was breathtaking. Light golden skin, probably from wandering, his eyelashes were so long that they were casting shadows on his elegantly moulded cheekbones. His nose was straight and his lips had a sulky, mischievous cant to them that couldn't be seen often because he was always smiling his famous rurouni grin. His hair, long, full and silky, trailed over his shoulder, mingling with the raven darkness of her own. Even his scar was saddeningly beautiful in its own way, hiding its secret behind its still-red cross. Yet it didn't ruin his perfection one bit. It was like another part of his face, like his nose or his mouth, and seemed, almost, to enhance his beauty rather than ruin it.

Darn it all, he was altogether prettier than she was!

She smiled as she watched him, her heart pounding as she watched. She had never seen him so…relaxed before. Even when he was at ease, there was always a tension around his shoulders. To see him now so off guard like this, it sent her heart fluttering. Her smile softened as she watched his soft breathing, wondering if he would get a crick in his neck from lying in such a position. Her eyes moved to his scar again and once more she had to wonder how it had come to marry his face. Without a second thought – or even a first, for that matter – Kaoru reached up to touch the mark. Gently, they ran over the first line, starting from his chin, towards where it crossed, to where it ended near his temple. With the same tenderness, she brushed her fingers across the second part, which started under his left eye and ran to his jaw. Kenshin stirred and tensed as they reached the crossing and Kaoru quickly drew back. _Kaoru no Baka!_ She berated herself.

Kenshin's eyes flickered open at the loss of warmth from his cheek, feeling a strange, yet familiar ache deep in his heart. It was as if he had lost something else when the warmth had gone. Slowly, he touched the scar with a hand. It had felt so real, the brush of tender fingers across the marks that seemed to elevate a pain deep inside, but it had come back when they flinched away, like they had never been there at all. Suddenly, Kenshin felt another presence beside him and he glanced round. Violet met sapphire and widened in surprise. _Kaoru…?_

It all came back – the embarrassing falls during the week, Kaoru being stuck in the sakura tree, surrounded by newly blooming blossoms, Kaoru teaching him how to call a bird to his hands, Sanosuke telling him Kaoru wanted to speak with him and locking them in the dojo. Kami, was he really so distracted that he didn't feel the suspiciousness in the ex-fighter-for-hire's ki?

Suddenly, he realised he was staring into those blue eyes and he quickly blinked and smiled his famous rurouni smile. "Ohayo, Kaoru-dono" he said cheerfully. Kami, if he wasn't careful, he would just lose himself in those innocent sapphire pools.

Kaoru sighed mentally. She had thought Kenshin was going to say something to her about touching his scar while he was vulnerable. She had seen the confusion written clearly across his face as he woke; saw the pain in his eyes as his own fingers followed the path of hers. Saw the surprise flash across his features before the mask fell into place. Quickly she returned the smile. "Ohayo Kenshin"

Kaoru stood up to let Kenshin get up from their position and stretched. She had never realised just how stiff one could get lying in such a way. She wondered just how Kenshin could deal with it on the few times she had seen him do it. "Do you think we're still locked in?" She asked as Kenshin folded up the blanket.

Kenshin looked up and smiled sheepishly. "Ano… probably."

Kaoru fumed. "Oooo, they are so dead!"

Kenshin busied himself with sliding the sheathed sakabato into his hakama, trying to hide a small smile. Though others may think otherwise, Kenshin thought she looked adorable when she was angry. "Maa, maa. Sessha is sure they will let us out soon, that they will" _if they don't want to have Kaoru beat them into next week_, he added silently, picturing Kaoru chasing after Sano, Yahiko and Shinya with a fire in her eyes and a bokken raised over her head. He almost felt sorry for them…

…Almost…

Meanwhile, outside the dojo, Shinya, Yahiko and Sanosuke stood hesitantly in front of the boarded shoji. Despite the cheerful tweeting of birds and the warm march sun on their backs, they all had a look of impending doom on their faces. Little wonder when they all had a picture of a curtain raging tanooki beating them down with every bokken in the dojo. Shooting glares at each other, they did what they did best.

They bickered. Sort of…

"You open it, Yahiko-chan" mumbled Sanosuke

"Me? Why me?" yelped Yahiko. Even he wasn't stupid enough to let a raging tanooki out of its cage. "It was your fault, Ondori-atama. And don't call me CHAN"

"Well, it was Shinya's idea-"

"Don't blame this on me, baka-ondori" Shinya said defensively - he didn't find having his body rearranged into something most commonly found in orange juice a very desirable option. "I was only joking. It's not my fault that you were stupid enough to actually take it seriously!"

Sanosuke was doing a marvellous impression of a landed fish as he desperately tried to find a way out. He couldn't help but wonder what Katsu would think, being scared of a young shihondai girl. Still, he had to admit, he never thought of the consequences. Nothing new, ne?

"Well, we 'ave to get them out, or Jou-chan'll be hunting us down for our hides."

All three of them froze at the thought of running from a relentless, thousand-bokken-wielding, insane tanooki.

"Fine. Okay. I'll go." Squeaked Shinya and jerkily approached the dojo door as if it were the mouth of hell itself. With a loud gulp, Shinya lifted the bar blocking the door and immediately dashed behind Sanosuke at lightning speed. However, no-one appeared at the door. Waiting, but still no-one. "Let's go before they come out, ne?" Shinya laughed nervously.

As one, the three conspirers began to creep away on tip-toe-

"Where do you think you guys are going?"

"Eep!" The boys froze, hair standing on end. They turned around to find Kaoru standing in the doorway. A bokken was in her hand, which she tapped in the other. Her eyes blazed and it was almost as if she were wreathed in flames. "We… we… ano… help…" Yahiko squeaked. They bolted.

Faster than Kenshin's Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Kaoru was upon them. In a blinding crack of multicolour, she cracked the bokken on their heads several times with deadly accuracy, before she just walked off with a rather manic grin on her face. She stepped over the mangled, swirly-eyed heap and walked off without another word. Behind her, Kenshin also came out of the dojo, but merely walked away, his violet eye sparkling mischievously and a small grin gracing his face.

Meanwhile, the mangled mass began to stir. Yahiko, attempting to rub the pile of bumps on his head, glared at the prone ex-gangster. "Sano"

Unmoving, he mumbled "Yeah?"

"I'm. Going. To. Kill. You." He said as calmly as possible.

"I thought that was against the teachings of the Kasshin-ryu"

Yahiko glared daggers at him. "I'll make an exception for you"

Swirly-eyed, Shinya laughed helplessly.

o0o

By afternoon, things had quietened down in the dojo grounds. Kaoru no longer attempted to beat the boys senseless at every opportunity. Finally, she had grown calm enough to act normally again. Well, normal for her anyway. However, if the word 'dojo' was mentioned, she got _that _look in her eyes that made you want to run off screaming to high heaven. But if the uneasy truce was to be maintained, someone would have to play peacemaker. As usual, it was up to Shinya.

So when dinnertime arrived and Kenshin got up to start cooking, Shinya restrained him. "Hey, let me cook dinner tonight"

At this, the entire Kenshin-gumi fell flat on their faces out of complete and utter shock. "You can cook!" they gasped. Shinya sweat-dropped.

"Well, yeah." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Just because I never offered before doesn't mean I can't. Besides, I couldn't get by living with my Grandma without her teaching me something, after all!" he laughed. "Anyway, I still gotta make it up to you with that… you know…" now he was on dangerous ground. Kaoru's eyes were ready to shoot fire. Time to change subject now. "So, you guys just wait and I'll call you when its done, 'kay?"

Suddenly, they found themselves looking at the shoji door.

Shinya began cooking in the kitchen, refusing any help and literally pushing anyone who entered out the door. He was surprisingly strong for his age and soon Yahiko and Sanosuke gave up, having being kicked out the door for the one-hundredth time in a heap.

Finally a delicious small floated into the room as Shinya emerged, his blue sleeves tied back and he was bearing bowls of rice, soup and fish on a large tray. He grinned as he set them on the table. Not only did it smell delicious, but it looked delicious as well. The fish was large and tender-looking, the rice and soup literally begged to be eaten. It wasn't long before the whole table dived to eat it. Literally.

"Oh, Wow!" Kaoru gasped as she finished her first bite. "Shinya, I didn't realise you could cook so good!"

"'Eh, ish even be'er 'an 'Enshin" Yahiko said through a mouth full of food as he and Sanosuke demolished the table before Kaoru and Kenshin could get more that a serving. Shinya laughed once he interpreted it.

"Yeah, well, when you lived with my mom and Grandma, you had to learn something. Gran was a brilliant cook and mom takes after her. Shame Grandpa always thought it wasn't too manly, or I would've learned how to do more. But I can only cook that, miso, Ohagi and Sakura Moche – speaking of which" Shinya produced another tray, loaded with cakes. "Dessert anyone?"

Once more, the table was demolished and plates were scraped clean – whiter than they were before-hand. Shinya, Kenshin and Kaoru kept their food as close to their bodies as possible, away from the risk of his hands being bitten off by the pack-dogs.

"Wow, Shinya! Do you think you could teach me how to make Sakura Moche?" Kaoru asked happily.

"Don't, Ugly'd kill us!"

BAM! Yahiko found himself in a bloody heap on the floor, a broken bokken lading on his head from a manically smiling Kaoru. Shinya grinned.

"Sessha would like to learn to, that he would" Kenshin agreed with a smile.

No one noticed as the bulb lit up, nor as the little devil-horns appeared under unruly hair. Everyone missed the impish look glistening in his eyes. Shinya grinned. "Sure, I'll teach you."

Everyone missed the double meaning behind those words.

To be continued…

Chosha's notes:

Hmm, a shorter chapter, but… he, he, he… I got BIG plans for the next chapter. I hope you like romance, there will be some. Not saying no more!

Not much to say about this chapter. It was more of a bridge to get to the next chapter, but I tried a little humour… too bad I never worked it out before hand for this chapter…

Next time on Fading Futures

Shinya begins to teach Kenshin and Kaoru and things are heating up… and it isn't Sakura Moche! Things get exiting in the next episode: The Kitchen Incident.

Mata Aimasho, Minna-san! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	11. Chapter 11

Konnichiwa minna! Welcome back once more to Fading Futures. I haven't been too well over the last week or so, but you guys and your reviews are really making me feel so much better! I want to thank everyone who's reading – reviewer or not, but special thanks has to go to Bree Mcgregor and Hitokiri Taijiya for your heart-felt reviews of my ickle Fic. Arigato gozaimasu!

I also want to apologise for the slow update. First I got ill for over a week, then I had to catch up with the work I missed and THEN, to top it all off, I had to prepare for an interview for Uni. Waaaa! Well, I'm back now, will a new chappy for you to enjoy!

I would still like to know you ideas for 'Fading Futures: The Oro Files' – basically the bloopers of Fading Futures. I have a few ideas myself, but I am willing to do dedications in bloopers. If there was something you wished had happened too, I could do some for that too!

I really hope you like this chapter, but either way, PLEASE **REVIEW**! You'll make Sessha sooooo happy!

Disclaimer: In no way, shape or for do I own RuroKen… maybe later? (Shakes magic number 8 ball, which answers "No way in hell"). Kuso! Still, Shinya and any character that doesn't already exist in the Manga or Anime is all MINE!

Last time on fading futures:

Kenshin and Kaoru finally got let out of the dojo, but an innocent request gets Shinya ready to get more plans underway. However, no-one seems to realise what he's scheming…

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Eleven

The Kitchen Incident

It was almost three weeks before Shinya could utilise his plans. Three weeks since Kaoru and Kenshin had asked for lessons from the younger Himura. However, contrary to what some people may believe, Shinya was patient by nature. He knew quite well how to handle such situations. If personal experience in matchmaking was to be learned from, Shinya had learned long ago that such a situation could not be rushed and turn out successful. He couldn't show them just how eager he was to get the ball rolling on this new scheme – he had to wait for them to make the first move. Rushing things could only make things worse… for all of them.

So it was with a little trepidation that Shinya glanced up from the book he was reading to look at the young shihondai trying to get his attention.

"Lessons…?" He asked curiously as she 'reminded' him of his promise, a look of mild interest on his face.

"Uh huh," Kaoru answered with a cheerful smile, "You promised several weeks ago that you would teach Kenshin and I how to make that meal you made for us."

Shinya thumbed his chin with a thoughtful expression, his eyes glittering mischievously. "Oh yeah, I did, didn't I."

Kaoru face faulted while Shinya burst out laughing at her expression – it was hilarious! "Maa, maa" he chuckled when he had calmed down enough to speak coherently, "I'm not that stupid – I hadn't forgot. I just didn't want to force you if you didn't feel up to it." He knew exactly how _that _felt – Kiyoshi and he kendo-practice-every-night-or-else being prime example. Shinya suddenly felt a wave of sadness wash over him, but he ruthlessly squashed the feeling. _Concentrate Shinya no baka – you've got a job to do._ Forcing a smile on his face he continued, "Plus having the same thing too often takes the novelty, ne? Especially if you can't make sod else" he added under his breath. Kaoru giggled at the comment.

"So, you'll do it today, ne?"

Shinya grinned and flipped the book shut. "Sure. I'll have to get some stuff for it from town, but then I'm all yours"

Kenshin, who was standing a few feet away finishing up the laundry, smiled over his shoulder. "Sessha was about to go to town after he finished up. Sessha could get it for you, that he could."

_Kami, couldn't he be a little _less_ nice for once?_ Shinya thought with exasperation, but he only smiled and shook his head negligibly at the rurouni's question. "Nah, I'll come with you." He jumped off the porch and brushed the creases from his midnight-blue hakama. "Besides, you wouldn't know what to get! Anyway, only the best ingredients'll get the best results" …in more ways than one.

o0o

Sanosuke and Yahiko, conveniently, had other places to be that day. Yahiko had left for his job at the Akebeko ("besides, I don't want to get food poisoning!" - which had promptly got him several new and bloody lumps growing on his head) and wouldn't be back for several hours. Sanosuke had gone out with several of his other friends (gambling most likely), so it was only Kaoru, Kenshin and Shinya present at the Kamiya dojo. This was fine by Shinya – he hadn't told the other two about his plans in any event. After the incident in the dojo – which still had Kaoru glaring daggers at the unfortunate person who even hinted at the thing – Shinya wasn't sure he could even unintentionally hint at anything else. And they called him 'Ko-oni'. _Honestly!_

Standing in the tiny kitchen, cooking utensils and ingredients crammed into every nook and cranny, Shinya began to organise his would-be students. All three stood with their sleeves tied back as Kenshin and Kaoru waited for instruction from the diminutive 'sensei'. Shinya, of course, let nothing on as he flashed them his own version of Kenshin's classic rurouni smile ™, and began to explain what to do – what to start chopping, how much of what needed to go where. He was in the middle of explaining the measurements for the rice when he suddenly slapped himself on the forehead.

"Chikusho," Shinya sighed "I knew I'd forgot something…"

Kenshin and Kaoru looked up from what they were doing to see what was wrong. Seeing their glance, Shinya sighed again.

"I forgot an ingredient we really need later on – don't worry, I'll get it" he added quickly, seeing Kenshin open his mouth to offer.

Kenshin looked a little uneasy. That would leave him alone with Kaoru. Not that he wouldn't have minded normally - Hell, he would love to have years alone with the girl – except that at this moment in time they were cooking and Kaoru was notorious for her, to put it bluntly, _awful_ cooking. It really didn't help that Kenshin had little idea of what to do himself to try and make it any less toxic for human consumption.

Shinya did a double take at the expression and burst into a fit of laughter. "Maa! I'll write the instructions down!" Shinya grinned "follow 'em and you'll be fine. I'll be back soon anyways."

It wasn't long before Shinya had scribbled down the instructions ("Gosh, Shinya, Your handwriting's almost as bad as Kenshin's!") and cheerfully went on his way.

Shinya slid the fushuma-door shut and crouched down next to it, surprising his ki, as his grandpa had taught him. Of course, Shinya hadn't actually forgotten anything – he had merely left it outside the kitchen, hidden behind a shelf. He had just needed an excuse to leave each other alone together at close quarters. Actually, he had to hand it to Sanosuke. The dojo idea had actually been quite a good one. It had meant the hopeless cases alone with nothing else to do but stare at each other. However, the results had been rather painful… for the conspirators anyway. Shinya was just developing on the idea, so it wouldn't result in having concussion for several weeks afterwards. This time, they were not being pushed. This time, the atmosphere was much more relaxed.

Shinya let an impish smile grace his lips. _Perfect._

Back in the kitchen, Kenshin and Kaoru had deciphered Shinya's scribbles and began to read through the instructions.

"Well, it doesn't look too hard, that it doesn't" Kenshin commented after a moment. Kaoru nodded in agreement, a smile gracing her lips that made Kenshin's heart melt on the spot. As she lent down to look at the instructions again, her soft hair brushed against her cheeks, giving him the irresistible urge to brush them back, to run his fingers through the silky strands. Kenshin swallowed, trying to control himself and wrenched his eyes away from her dazedly, a faint blush escaping his control.

Shinya, ear pressed against the door, silently egged them on. It was the perfect opportunity for them to confess their feelings. He sighed smugly. Just a little longer. Just a little longer before they confess, and the Himuras would be safe once more – his ancestors would be happy and Shinya—

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Eep!" Shinya jumped a mile and spun round to find Yahiko looking at him suspiciously. "Yahiko! Don't _do_ that! Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?" Shinya rubbed his chest where his heart was thudding a million miles an hour, "What're you doing back so early? I thought you said you were working."

Yahiko shrugged. "Yeah, I was, but Tae let me off early. But what were _you_ doing." He glared at the other boy, who blushed scarlet at being caught. Shinya flinched and instinctively rubbed his temples at the sharp note in his voice.

"W-well, I… It's a long story—" Shinya found himself cowering as the smaller boy's glare deepened. He threw up his hands in defeat. "Alright! Alright! I wasn't going to tell you, but seeing as you're doing Yahiko's version of the famous-Battosai-death-glare, I'll tell you!" _Jeez, if looks could kill…_

Quickly, he grabbed Yahiko's arm – hoping their convocation hadn't disturbed the events unfolding in the Kitchen – and dragged him outside. "Come on, follow me."

o0o

Kaoru noticed the sudden movement of red and glanced at the rurouni and glanced up from chopping vegetables to look. His head was bowed, crimson-gold tresses brushed his cheeks, flushed pink. His amethyst eyes seemed a little wider than normal. Kaoru wondered what he was thinking about that made his cheeks colour. Was he thinking about her? She hoped so. It would only be fair, seeing as how he had stolen most of her fantasies. The sun flashed golden on his hair, making it seem like a sea of auburn. His hair always fascinated her – so exotic – it enticed her. She wanted to hold him, to be able to run her fingers through crimson locks. She imagined them to be smoother than a silk ribbon—

"Itai!" Kaoru yelped, dropping the knife she had been using. _Stupid, stupid Kaoru_, she berated herself, sucking her bleeding finger. Letting her fantasies run away with her. _Why not chop your hand off next time, no baka!_

"Kaoru-dono?" a concerned voice asked worriedly. Kaoru glanced up into Kenshin's concerned face. "Daijobu ka?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I got a little… distracted, that's all" Distracted by you, Kenshin no baka, she added. She couldn't _tell_ him that, of course.

Kenshin stepped a little closer. "Let me look at it" he said softly. Kaoru's breath caught in her throat at the tender look in his eyes that she could only nod her head and comply with his wishes. Kenshin took her hand and looked it over, his rough, gentle hands brushing her skin as he checked the wound. "It's only a shallow cut" he said after a moment. "We just need to wash it and wrap the wound – it shouldn't take long for the bleeding to stop." He let go of her hand to get some water to wash the cut, leaving Kaoru distractedly staring at her hand from the loss of warmth. It wasn't long before Kenshin returned and gently began to care for the wound.

Kaoru watched, fascinated, as Kenshin expectedly washed the wound and took out a small tin from within his gi. Opening it, he began to apply it to the wound. Kaoru wrinkled her nose at the smell, but said nothing. She expected the wound to burn and sting, but was pleasantly surprised at the cooling sensation as his gently massaged it into her skin, the pain subsiding to a dull ache.

"Hey, what is that stuff?" she asked as Kenshin worked.

Kenshin glanced up for a moment before continuing, causing Kaoru to pout a little at the lost eye-contact. "It was something Sessha learned, a long time ago."

Kaoru blinked in surprise. "You… made this?"

Kenshin nodded, mind elsewhere. "Aa, Sessha was a… apothecary of sorts, once" Kenshin closed his eyes for a moment, a flash of another woman entering his mind, but was surprised that the usual pain that usually accompanied it was missing. Sure, it still hurt, but it wasn't the crippling sadness that drowned him. Somehow, in Kaoru's presence, the guilt was somehow diminished. Kenshin smiled a little. "And Sessha learned a lot by watching." He wasn't about to tell her that the watching was usually while someone was treating his own wounds.

Kaoru glanced at him sharply, but, despite what some may think, Kaoru knew tact and so remained silent, instead watching skilled hands finish applying the cream to move to a cupboard to take out some bandages. Kenshin knelt back down and began to wrap the wound gently. Kaoru found herself blushing at Kenshin's closeness, his face so near to hers. It would be so natural, so natural, to just lean forward a little more to brush her lips against skin…

Shinya and Yahiko held their breath, so close, so close. Do it!

Kenshin gently tied the cloth and looked into her eyes – shining pools of sapphire he would love to lose himself in. he could only stare at the amount of emotion shining in his eyes. He wasn't blind – they mirrored his own perfectly. He could just lean forward and press his lips on hers. But should he? Can he?

Kaoru's eyes made the decision for him. _Hai._

Kenshin lent forward a little, as did Kaoru. They were mere inches away now, moving closer…

"Oi! Jou-chan, Kenshin! Where are you guys?"

Everyone fell over anime style. Kaoru and Kenshin jumped and parted, blushing furiously. Outside, Yahiko began to bang his head against the wall, while Shinya fumed. "That… Stupid… Rooster…"

Sanosuke burst into the kitchen as Kenshin flashed his rurouni smile. "There you go, Kaoru-dono!" he said cheerfully, secretly disappointed while he imagined himself strangling the ex-fighter-for-hire. If he hadn't made that vow…

Shinya decided to get the walking dead man out of the room and poked his head round the door. "Oh, I was just looking for you, Sano. Can you come here a min?" and he literally heaved the man out the room.

**Bangwackdoof!**

Yahiko strode away, shinai over his shoulder muttering curses under his breath, while Sanosuke lay in a bloody heap on the floor from the duel attacks, while Shinya stormed off fuming. Glancing round the door again, he noticed the rurouni and shihondai standing at opposite sides of the room, furiously getting back to work. _Damn Sanosuke to hell!_

Shinya forced himself to push all thoughts of killing the man at the back of his mind, along with the sick feeling in his stomached, and walked into the room. "Okay then, where were we?"

To be continued…

Chosha's notes.

Um… I think people are going to kill me for that ending… Don't worry, I want to get them together in a more romantic setting.

Just so you know, I can't cook one little bit unless it involves a microwave, so I don't know what Shinya's ingredients were, but what he made was real dishes. If people haven't killed me in Sano's place, see you next time!

By the way, Merry Christmas to all my readers if I cant update before the holls!

Next time on _fading futures_,

Kenshin's got the idea, Shinya's in a crisis and everyone's favourite ninja makes a show! Next time, in chapter Twelve: forget me not

Ja ne for now!

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	12. Chapter 12

Chosha's notes:

Way! I've finally done Chapter Twelve of _Fading Futures_! Konnichiwa Minna and a happy new year! We're actually getting into the main part of the story now! And I've got big plans for Shinya, Kaoru, Kenshin and the gang. I can't wait! But, as the saying goes – easily said than done. Obviously, as all Fanfic authors and authoress's know, it is much harder to get those ideas down in the best way. Anyway, enough of my rambles. I want to thank Lily of the Shadows and Inuwolf04 for your reviews. I also want to say Konnichiwa to all my new readers out there! I hope you who aren't reviewing, but are still reading, are enjoying this. But please, to raise my self-esteem, please **REVIEW**! Constructive criticisms are also welcome.

Hope you enjoy this one!

IMPORTANT: Major spoilers for the Kyoto arc ahead!

Disclaimer: As everyone who has read any of this story so far should know by now, I still don't own Rurouni Kenshin – nor did I get it at Christmas (Pouts). I guess that I'll just have to be happy with owning any and all characters that do not appear in the anime or manga, then!

Last time on Fading Futures:

Shinya got a new plan underway, Kenshin and Kaoru almost kissed and Sanosuke got concussion after ruining it all!

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter twelve

Forget Me Not

Shinya sat staring up at the full moon as he breathed in the cool night air, trying to calm the smouldering annoyance still present inside him. The moon's light caressed him with silvery beams, trying to soothe him.

The rest of the day had not gone so well. Even though he had managed to take out much of his fury on the source of the problem – namely on a certain rooster head that had to stay the night due to severe concussion – he had been pretty short tempered and snappy for the rest of the day. Plus Kenshin and Kaoru had literally avoided looking at each other even while they were talking, it was pushing him to his limits. And now he was suffering from a terrible migraine making him feel absolutely awful to say the least.

_Damn that rooster!_

Shinya rubbed his temples and sighed. Logically, he knew it was stupid to be taking things so personally. Even the resident hotheaded shihondai hadn't gone into her usual, bokken-smashing fury about it all, so really, he shouldn't be so angry with him. Besides, it wasn't like it was totally Sanosuke's fault. If Shinya had resolved to tell him about his plan in the first place, Sanosuke wouldn't have come stumbling in at that inappropriate moment. So it was probably just as much his fault as the ex-gangster's. He really shouldn't have hit the guy so hard, he should hit himself too.

Perhaps that was why he felt as if his head was going to split open – it was probably Tomoe or Kami telling him how much of a baka he was!

_Damn him anyways…_

Shinya watched as a firefly flitted amongst the flowers in the garden. He wished his life was carefree again, when he could play matchmaker for fun, not with the lives of everyone he knew ridding on it. Even in Kendo – even if he fought for his life, like with those bandits – Shinya would get a break from it all, be able to put aside the bokken and relax. But with this… the danger was always there – the fate of his family… The tension of it all was driving him insane too. With each passing day, he knew he was running low on sand in his hourglass. He wondered just how much he had left.

He rubbed his hands over his eyes and glanced down at the talisman, sitting on the folds of his yukata, still glowing softly. Shinya knew the glow was fading – slowly fading as his time slipped away. Shinya stared at his hand as it flickered slightly and squeezed on the talisman, fighting back the tears as his heart thudded in his throat.

Again. Twice now. The fading was coming again, already happened twice that night. He shivered and closed his eyes. He was scared. Dammit, this wasn't something a fourteen-year-old was meant to handle! No one should have so many lives ridding on his actions. One wrong move, and its all gone…

Shaking, he watched as the talisman flickered dimmer and his hand grew solid again. He squeezed them to his chest. Waveringly, eyes screwed shut against hysterical tears, Shinya whispered, "I'm running out of time… Kami-sama…"

o0o

"Shinya? Daijobu ka?"

Shinya gave a start as he looked up to find a rather worried-looking Kenshin looking back at him. He swallowed as he glanced around the room, seeing both Yahiko and Kaoru looking at him with the same expression written clearly on their faces. Slowly, he passed a hand over his eyes.

It was midday. The Kenshin Gumi, minus Sanosuke, was sitting in the living room to avoid the hazy drizzle outside. Kaoru had been reading one of her novels, while Kenshin had silently been sipping on a cup of green tea. Both Shinya and Yahiko were checking over their Shinai, making sure there was no wood sticking out anywhere -–at least, they were. For the past ten minutes, Shinya had been staring at the Shinai as if he wasn't even seeing it, his eyes shadowed. He had been distant all day and it was starting to worry the others. They had never seen the usually spunky and mischievous boy look so sullen. Shinya almost hit his head on the table for being so stupid, but he was sure _that_ would improve things!

Shinya grinned at them. "Daijobu. I was just thinking."

Yahiko leaned in. "You sure? You've been kinda spacey all day…"

Shinya made sure he was smiling wider. "There's nothing to worry about! I just had a bad dream last night and didn't get much sleep. It's nothing, really."

Kenshin gave him a look that clearly said he wasn't buying Shinya's excuse. _Must have been some bad dream to get him acting so strange,_ Kenshin thought as he watched Shinya Laugh and continue on his work again. _If it really WAS a dream…_

"Oi!"

Everyone glanced up to find Sanosuke slip off his shoes and come into the house. He was looking just a _little_ damp – even his rooster-like hair was drooped a little from the extra weight. "You're soaked," Kaoru said, a little disapprovingly. Sanosuke ignored her as he sat down, pulling out a letter from his white jacket. Instantly, everyone was attentive.

"Postman just came." Sanosuke said as way of explanation, "I told him I was coming here, so he gave it to me to give to ya, Jou-chan." He grinned. "And get this – it's from Kyoto."

"Kyoto?" Kaoru asked, confused. Sanosuke passed her the, admittedly damp, letter and turned it over to see who it was from. Her eyes widened and she screamed in delight. Kenshin, Shinya and Yahiko just looked at each other, confusion written clearly all over them. Finally, Yahiko turned to Shinya.

"What is it with girls and screaming?"

Shinya gave a sheepish grin and merely shrugged. He wasn't even going to try to answer that one. He could remember only too well when Tomoji had asked that particular question and then tried to come up with a 'reasonable' explanation. But seeing as Tomoji's 'reasonable' was not very high on the reasonable scale (or tasteful scale for that mater). _And_ he had attempted this in the presence of Yukie and some of her female friends – probably half the female population of the class at school– Tomoji had promptly been battered and bruised by said females and left in a heap of bloody lumps and swirly-eyes. It was not something Shinya was ever even contemplating on trying – especially in front of a certain hotheaded Kamiya.

As predicted, said Kamiya had Yahiko squirming on the floor, swirly-eyed, with a new lump and she glowered at him, bokken in hand. It was at times like these when Shinya had to wonder how Kaoru managed it. Even if she didn't have said weapon in the vicinity, She always managed to bonk anyone who annoys her with a bokken that miraculously appeared out of thin air. She had to be the eighth wonder of the world or something.

"So, who's it from," asked Shinya, curiosity overcoming his previously depressed state.

"It's from Misao!" Kaoru said delightedly. "We haven't heard from her in ages!"

"From Misao-dono?" asked Kenshin pleasantly.

"Ugh, not that weasel girl," Yahiko moaned. (Several miles away – "Achoo!")

Shinya looked from one Kenshin-Gumi member to the next, trying to work out who this person was, but no one was paying any attention to him. Kaoru was now yelling at Yahiko that Misao is not a weasel girl, while Kenshin and Sanosuke looked just about ready to hold back Kaoru if she went to jump him. Finally, the arguing began to get on his nerves. Loudly, he said, "So who's this Misao person?"

The arguing stopped as they all turned to stare at Shinya as if he was crazy. Shinya was starting to worry that this Misao was some well-known celebrity in this era, until Kaoru said, "Oh yeah, you haven't met Misao, have you. I keep forgetting you weren't with us when we went to Kyoto."

"What's so important about Kyoto? I mean, I know it's one of the bigger cities, but…"

"You mean you don't know about Shishio?" Yahiko said, dumfounded.

Sanosuke snorted. "Well, Whaddya expect? Only us who went to stop Shishio'd know about it. That broom-head Chou said those Meiji pigs covered the whole thing up. I bet halfa Kyoto doesn't even know about 'im."

Shinya mentally sighed, glad to have some excuse for his ignorance. "So, what was all this 'Shishio' stuff about then?"

Everyone glanced at each other uncomfortably and Kenshin avoided looking at him. Shinya felt like hitting his head on the table again. _Shinya no Baka Ahou!_ Quickly, Shinya opened his mouth to apologise when Kaoru started talking.

"Well, you might as well know, I guess," she started. She glanced at Kenshin, who nodded in agreement with a sad smile. Kenshin turned to Shinya, who shivered a little with a sense of foreboding. Whatever happened was not going to be a walk in the park that was for sure!

Kenshin cleared his throat a little and began.

"When Sessha emerged from the shadows to fight as a 'free-striking swordsman' against the Shinsengumi and its allies, Makoto Shishio was another revolutionary from the Choshu clan who took up the role as 'hitokiri of the shadows' in my stead. Even Sessha had no direct contact with him in that time. But the Ishin Shishi thought he knew too much by the end of the Bakumatsu, and he also had a lot of ambition as well. If they let him live, he would have tried to take control using all the knowledge he had, including assassinations he carried out which would have turned the new government on its head if it was leaked out. So, during the chaos of the Boshin war, his comrades erased him – or, at least, they _thought_ they had. They even poured oil all over him and burned his body – but Shishio survived."

"And I'm guessing he wasn't too thrilled, either," Shinya added, feeling a little ill. Man, if someone tried to burn him alive, he wouldn't have been feeling too peachy with the government either. _Heh, all the things you_ don't _hear about in history class…_

"Exactly. Shishio gathered followers to try and take over Japan in the ten years afterwards. He also gathered some of the best swordsman to form a group called the 'Juppon Katana', who were extremely loyal followers. The government, obviously, got wind of this and sent many troops against Shishio, but they we're all wiped out. The government sent Hajime Saito to test Sessha, to see if I was still as good as when I was Battosai. Unfortunately, Sessha passed-"

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Back up a minute. Hajime Saito? As in, officer of the 3rd Shinsengumi unit, Hajime Saito?" Kenshin nodded, looking a little confused. Shinya frowned. "But he was a Wolf of Mibu. Why's he working for the Meiji government? I mean, aren't they, you know, the enemy or something?"

"He was just crazy." Yahiko grumbled.

"From what Sessha could gather, Saito was working as a lieutenant in the police under the name of Goro Fujita to make sure that none of the officials would be corrupted. If they were, he'd probably slay them. He stuck rigidly to this code of Aku-Soku-Zan, held by all the Shinsengumi."

"So, what happened after you, um, passed his test?" Somehow, Shinya thought that 'test' had much more to it than these guys were letting on. However, he wasn't here to gather information on whatever happened between Kenshin and Hajime Saito.

"Lord Okubo arrived and informed us about Shishio in Kyoto and asked Sessha to go to Kyoto to stop him. He gave me a week to think things through. But Okubo was assassinated by one of Shishio's Juppon Katana – Soujiro Seta – on the day Sessha was to give the answer." Shinya had to stop himself from staring. Even the people in his time didn't know who really assassinated the chief of internal affairs. "Sessha went to Kyoto and met Misao-dono on the way. But in one fight against Soujiro, my original Sakabato was broken and Sessha had to get a new one. Misao-dono helped, but I had to leave to finish training with my shishou so Sessha would be able to defeat Shishio. Kaoru-dono and Yahiko met her later, when they followed Sessha to Kyoto-"

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have just gone off and left us without telling us, should you?" Yahiko growled. Kenshin winced at the tone.

"Well, in sessha's defence, I did have good reasons…" he paused as everyone but Shinya shot him dark glares. "Maa! Sessha promised he wouldn't leave again, that he did!"

"Yeah, you better keep it too!" growled Sanosuke.

Shinya was worried he'd found himself on the Meiji era's version of the Jerry Springer show or something. Nervously he cleared his throat to get their attention. "So, I take it you all ended up in Kyoto-"

"Damn straight," Sanosuke said stubbornly.

"So, what happened then?" this was more interesting than hearing this stuff out of a text book in history class, that was for sure!

"Well, Kaoru-dono and Yahiko got Misao to help find Sessha and they met me at Shishou's home. Misao-dono let them stay at the Aoiya while I was training. They had some problems with Aoshi Shinomori too while Sessha was away."

That rang a bell. "Aoshi…?"

"He's the Okashira of the Oniwabanshu," Yahiko told him. Shinya tried not to gape. To think, he knew some people who actually could say they have spies as friends.

"You mean Misao's an Onmitsu? Shinya exclaimed. "That is so cool!"

"Um… anyway, to cut a long story short Misao-dono, Kaoru-dono, Yahiko and the other Oniwabanshu helped defend Kyoto and the Aoiya, while Sanosuke, Saito and Sessha went to face Shishio. We had to fight a member of the Juppon Katana one by one to get to Shishio-"

"Yeah, and you had to fight Aoshi to help get him back to weasel girl too," Sanosuke added.

"Finally, after defeating a member of the Juppon Katana each, Sessha and Shishio had to fight. It was a long fight, but…" Kenshin paused, a pain flashing in his eyes for a moment. Even Sanosuke looked uncomfortable. Shinya froze as he realised something really bad must have happened to have even Sanosuke look so restless and to give Kenshin such a pained look. But before he could say anything, the moment passed and Kenshin said, "In the end, Shishio had fought for too long. Because of all those burns over his body, he'd lost the ability to sweat to regulate his body temperature, and could only do anything strenuous for fifteen minutes before his body temperature became too high. So, because we had fought for so long, his temperature just kept rising until he burst into flames"

Spontaneous combustion! Everything Shinya thought he knew was getting turned on its head! He never thought time travel was possible, yet here he was listening to his ancestors talk about a battle, while sitting in the Meiji era, and now _this_! Kami, when he got home, Shinya was really going to have to change his opinions on things.

If he got home…

Shinya growled and shook off the oncoming melancholy before it took a grip on him. Around him, Yahiko and Sanosuke were starting to get impatient.

"Well? What's Misao gotta say?"

"Oh, yeah!" Kaoru unfolded the letter and began to read it out loud:

_Dear Kaoru, Himura, Yahiko, Sanosuke and Megumi (if you're there),_

_Hey guys! Long time no see! I hope things are going well in Tokyo since we last met, and that the dojo is starting to get right again – it was a little low on students the last time I heard from you. Things are going quite well here. The new Aoiya is doing really well and Kyoto's getting back on its feet again. Aoshi-sama is still a little distant at times, but I know I'm going to get that smile out of him yet!_

_By the way, the star festival is coming up really soon and its being held in Kyoto! Gramps thought you guys would want to come. The star festival is really cool, you just have to come. Gramps says you can stay at the Aoiya during the festival for free and we'll give you the tour we promised you when we last met. I do hope you can come! Besides, We think it'll do you guys some good to get a few good memories about Kyoto, especially you, Himura._

_We really hope to hear from you guys soon and I really, really hope you'll at least think about coming to the star festival. It's wonderful to see Kyoto all done up for the festivities._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Misao Makimachi_

"Wow! The star festival! I've only ever been to one of those!" Kaoru said excitedly. "There's the lights and fireworks and attractions! And they say that if you make a wish on a star during the festival, I'll come true!" she turned round to Kenshin, who was re-reading the letter. "What do you think, Kenshin? I think we should go. The festival is so beautiful and it's really fun too with all the things that happen! And I think it would be good to see Misao and Okina and the others again."

Kenshin blinked at Kaoru, seeing the excitement shine in her eyes. She looked like a child on Christmas morning. Somehow, he found he could not refuse her. Besides, Kenshin had decided he wasn't going to fight it anymore – the festival would be perfect…

"Hai, Kaoru-dono. Sessha thinks it would be fun, that he does."

"Yay!" Kaoru said happily. "Shinya! You should come too! And we can introduce you to Misao and Aoshi and Okina and the other Oniwabanshu! Oo - and we can invite Megumi-san and maybe Dr Gensai and Ayame and Suzume…"

Shinya leaned back as he watched Sanosuke start arguing that if 'Kitsune-onna' was going then he wouldn't be, while Kaoru told him he was and that was the end of it, even if she had to drag him along, and he glanced at Kenshin out of the corner of his eyes. Kenshin was watching Kaoru with a small smile on his face and Shinya looked away, almost embarrassed by the look in those violet eyes. It seems Kenshin had finally caught the hint after all. Maybe Shinya wouldn't have to worry then – It seems Kenshin was about to take the relationship between himself and the Kenjutsu Shihondai up to the next level during this little excursion.

Shinya hid a smirk, his eyes sparkling in mischievous amusement. This might be fun after all…

To be continued…

Chosha's notes:

Yep, I wasn't going to leave out everyone's favourite Ninja-girl and Okashira. It would be close to a sin! Plus I needed to get Megumi into the picture. I wasn't sure how to get Shinya to meet them, but when I came up with the ideas for this chapter, it hit me like one of Kaoru's bokkens!

A few things to clear up, just in case anyone is confused at all.

Firstly, before anyone asks, I realise Shinya isn't acting like a fourteen year old, but if you look to Shinya's story he tells the Gumi of why he wanted to learn swordsmanship, and Shinya's situation in general, he has every right to be scared and depressed. Plus there are some people who just seem to come out with really wise things naturally. I know someone like that. It can be really strange sometimes, but I think its cool, so Shinya is one of those people who have that natural talent.

Also, Shinya has also had a situation before with ghost-Tomoe about asking stuff we all know from the manga and Anime. Basically, though Shinya has read many different manga – as seen in chapter two – the story of Battosai and Kenshin's life afterwards is history here and then life of Battosai a highly guarded thing that would have become a legend blown out of proportion. With this part about Shishio, however, Chou tells the Kenshin-Gumi when he visits them at the Shirobeko that the government wanted to cover it all up. So only the people involved would know any better. Sanosuke assumes Shinya just never heard about it because of that, rather than it being kept out of the history books.

Finally, the Jerry Springer reference… just don't ask… **–. –'** Anyway, so I don't get yelled at, I don't own that either.

Anything else you wanna know? Just review the question to me and I'll tell you the answer – as long as it doesn't spoil the plot!

Next time on _Fading Futures_:

The festival is fast approaching and the arrangements are made. Kenshin sets his own plans in motion too. But how it Shinya going to react to our favourite Kitsune-onna? Find out on Chapter Thirteen: _Arrangements_

Mata Aimasho, Minna-san! See you next time…

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	13. Chapter 13

Chosha's Notes

Konnichiwa minna! Once again, welcome back to Fading Futures. Things are beginning to heat up as we come to the main part of the story. In my mind, it is in three parts. The first was Shinya's arrival and settling in; the second is the Festival and their adventures in that. The third… well, I'm not saying yet! Anyway, thank you to everyone who has read the fic so far, so arigato gozaimasu! Special thanks must go to my reviewers: Xeno, Inuwolf04, Lily of the Shadow, DrAgOnCiTa, Willow Evenstar and Delta74, who are really encouraging. I just hope you keep REVIEWING!

By the way, I've also started a new fiction too. It's a xover between RuroKen and Harry Potter, named RuroKen and the Philosopher's stone. I'm intending to do all Harry Potter books with a RuroKen twist. So, if you love RuroKen and Harry Potter, why don't you try that too?

Hope you like this chapter!

Xeno: You know, I hadn't thought of that. When I had Yukie (Shinya's GF) at the beginning, I thought of her as a sort of Misao type character. It does seem like they could have a relationship of sorts. I'll think on that for you. But I know Shinya and Misao are gonna team up in the future, though in what way…

Disclaimer: Nope, still own zilch. Thankfully, to cheer me up, Shinya and any character that doesn't appear in the Manga or Anime all belong to me!

Last time on Fading Futures:

A letter from Kyoto arrives, inviting everyone to the Star festival and it's getting everyone excited. Kenshin also looks like he's not so blind after all…

Tanoshimimas! (Enjoy!)

Chapter Thirteen

Arrangements

Kaoru was almost skipping as she and Shinya made their way through the semi-busy streets to the Ogura clinic, which was where Dr Gensai and Megumi worked. Shinya had been quite interested to see who the woman was. He recalled Kaoru and the others having mentioned her to him in passing during convocation, but he had never thought to ask. However, with Kaoru going to visit her to ask her, Dr Gensai, Ayame and Suzume to see if they wanted to go to the star festival with them, Shinya had jumped at the chance to come with her. Besides, he wanted to meet this person who, as Sanosuke told him, was 'as equally demented in personality'. Shinya snickered slightly as he remembered the convocation they had had that morning.

-Flashback-

The morning had started quite uneventfully. Yahiko was sweeping up the floor, grumbling about having to do all the work. Kenshin was sitting on the porch cradling a cup of green tea as he watched Sanosuke play Shinya (who had done the washing up and told he didn't have to help Yahiko sweep floors) at a game of Shogi. Kenshin had been quite surprised that Shinya had bet he could beat the rooster-head at the game. Of course, Sanosuke had rose to the challenge. Now, however, Sanosuke was looking as though he was regretting it. Shinya was actually one of the best players Kenshin had ever seen – except perhaps his Shishou. Inside, Kaoru was finishing up organising a few things. Kaoru had pulled off another number from the calendar when she gave a squeal of delight, startling the rest of the Kenshin-Gumi. Kenshin almost threw tea down himself at the unexpected sound, Yahiko merely sighed and muttered something about girls always screaming and Sanosuke shot her an annoyed glance as she had just caused him to put the counter in the wrong place in his game of Shogi. Shinya grinned as he placed his own counter down, proclaiming, quite humbly, "Ha! I Win! Loooser!"

Sanosuke smacked his hand on the floor. "Jou-chan!" he wailed, "Give us warning next time. Now you've gone an' put me off. Ko-oni's never gonna let me live it down!"

Shinya grinned and put his weight on an arm now slung over his shoulder. "Damn straight. Loser." He snickered as he dodged a punch Sano aimed his way.

Kenshin turned to Kaoru, ignoring the squabbling pair. "What's wrong, Kaoru-dono?" He asked.

Kaoru was practically beaming as she bounced forward. "It's a week before the festival!" she said excitedly. "Oh, and we've got to go visit Dr Gensai, the girls and Megumi-san and Tsubame-chan about coming with us! Then we've got to sort out what were gonna take and-"

"I hope you're not gonna take all that crap you made me carry when we went on that trip to Yokohama." Sanosuke growled.

Kaoru glared at him. "It was better to be safe than sorry" she snapped. "As I recall, if I hadn't brought all that stuff, I wouldn't have had a bokken to fight those train hijackers now would I?"

Shinya was sure he saw the ex-fighter-for-hire shudder at the word 'Train' and mutter something under his breath about ghosts and sewers.

Kaoru shook off the dark glare and said, "So I was thinking about going to tell Tsubame and Kenshin can get some stuff from town. You can take Shinya and go to ask Dr Gensai and Megumi-san – Shinya hasn't met Megumi-san yet-"

"What!" Sanosuke exploded, standing up so fast the shogi board toppled over and sent the counters raining over the floor. "You're askin' _me_ to ask _her_ to go to the _Star Festival!_ Do you have any idea what thoughts would be floating round in that Kitsune's head if I asked her to go to a festival with me?" he glared at Shinya, who was giving him a look that clearly stated, '_no one said with_ just _you. So _that's _how it is, hmmm?_ "Besides, Ko-oni's demented enough without meeting up with someone as equally demented in personality!"

"Sounds like we'd get on just fine then," Shinya smirked. Sanosuke looked like he wanted to throttle him.

In the end, after Sanosuke had literally got on his knees and _begged_ Kaoru not to send him to Megumi, Kaoru had decided to go with Shinya instead, while Sanosuke would go with Yahiko to ask the girl Tsubame. Kenshin had just smiled, his eyes shinning mischievously, before making his way towards the town. Kenshin had a few things he needed to do…

-End Flashback-

With another snicker, Shinya caught up with Kaoru as she entered the building of the clinic.

There were a few people in the waiting room – an oldish woman with greying hair and a man who looked as if he had sprained his ankle by the swelling. Shinya grinned as he saw who the other two were. Ayame and Suzume, who had been playing in the waiting room, glanced up as they entered, their faces breaking out into two identically happy D's.

"Kaoru-nee-san! Shinya!" They shouted happily and threw themselves at them. Shinya laughed as he hauled Suzume from the floor and tossed her into the air, catching her. She screamed with laughter, yelling for him to do it again.

Seconds later, the door to the clinic itself slid open and Dr Gensai came out, followed by a patient and a tallish woman in a medic's Kimono. She had long, silky-looking black hair that was loose and reached somewhere round her waist. Deep, intelligent brown eyes looked back at them with a mischievous sparkle that Shinya instantly recognised. After all, he was probably the one who perfected it. Kaoru smiled at her.

"Megumi-san"

"Kaoru-chan! It's been a while." She turned her eyes to Shinya with interest. "And who's this?"

"This is Shinya Harada. He's my newest student at the dojo."

Shinya grinned. "It's a pleasure"

Megumi got that look in her eyes. "And he looks so much like Ken-san too. Shame he's a little too young! Ohohoho!"

Shinya stared for a minute at the fox-ears that had suddenly appeared on her head. He blushed as the implications sunk in. Ken-san? Shame he's a bit too young! So that's why Sanosuke kept calling her a vixen then! Suddenly it took all his will power trying not to laugh at Kaoru, who looked as if she was a fish out of water.

"Megumi-san!"

"Oh, come now Tanuki-chan. I have a lot of time to make up for." She turned a little more serious again. "Anyway, there's nothing wrong, is there? You haven't poisoned Ken-san with your cooking, have you?"

"Not yet…" muttered Shinya, who immediately made his eyes wide and innocent when Kaoru glared at him as Megumi laughed. "What?" He said angelically. She rounded on Megumi.

"What do you mean, poisoning Kenshin! Of course I didn't! My cooking not that bad--!"

Shinya coughed, which sounded suspiciously like 'Liar!'

"--Anyway, it's nothing like that! Misao from Kyoto sent us a letter, asking us to go to the Star Festival, and we were wondering if you wanted to go with us, along with Ayame and Suzume and Dr Gensai – if you want to come – and if you behave!"

Megumi put a finger on her chin, eyes sparking again. "Is Ken-san and Ondori-atama going?"

"Well of course they are… Hey what do you mean 'Is Ken-san going'! Keep your hands off him! He's not-"

"Ohohoho! Does that mean you and Ken-san are a couple now?"

Kaoru suddenly blushed ten shades of red. Shinya just smirked at the response. _Yeah, any day now…_

"Ooo, Tanooki's in love!" she chanted as Kaoru began to look very helpless indeed, prodding her fingers together while trying to think of a witty retort. Megumi tilted her head back and laughed again. "Sure, I think I will go, Tanooki-chan. Ohohoho!"

"Well, as much as I'd love to stand here and see you two getting on so well, we still got to see if Ayame, Suzume and Gensai-sensei are going at all," Shinya laughed at Kaoru's embarrassment and turned to Dr Gensai. "What do you think Gensai-sensei? You up for a holiday?"

Gensai stretched a little mournfully. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I'm meant to be going to Odawara to help out during the festival, unfortunately. I was actually going to ask if you could watch out for Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan."

The girl's eyes lit up. "You mean we can go, Grandpa?" they asked excitedly.

"Only if Kaoru-chan doesn't mind."

Kaoru had finally shook off her embarrassment. "Of course they can come. I'm sure they'll find it so much fun!"

"Yeah, and we have Ken-nii and Kaoru-nee-san and Megumi-nee-san and Shin-nii going too!" Ayame said happily, hugging Shinya. Shinya froze for a moment. _Shin-nii… _They thought of him as family…? Shinya mentally slapped himself several times to rid himself of homesickness that had suddenly gripped him. _Stupid, stupid Shinya! No time for stupid Homesickness, dammit! Get your mind on track, baka!_

Grinning so no one knew of his mental tirade, Shinya pulled the girls to him. "Sure! We'll take good care of them and everything, don't you worry. It'll be great!"

Dr Gensai smiled. "Then I'll drop them off at the dojo when its time. So," he said, turning to Kaoru. "When are you going to Kyoto?"

As Kaoru told him the details, the girls were practically dancing. "Yay! Festival! Festival! We're going to the Festival!" they sang, laughing.

Shinya grinned at the two as they began dancing for joy.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in town, Kenshin walked through the crowded streets where people were gazing in awe at some things, or bartering with salesmen about their prices. In his arms, he was already carrying the things Kaoru had asked him to get from town, but he wasn't ready to go back to the dojo just yet. There was something he needed to do first. He wanted to get something for Kaoru. Nothing too fancy – just something that will let her know he was thinking of her. Too bad he had never really thought what women might want anyway. The only experience of this sort (other than Hiko telling of his sexual exploits and passing it of as sex education) was with Tomoe, and he had never had the time or opportunity to do so – fighting in a war and all.

As he walked, Kenshin let his eyes travel over the stalls for something that might interest her, until a sweet sent caught him. Kenshin sniffed. Flowers? He looked around to find a stall that had a whole array of flowers over the surface of it. Lilies and Jasmine, Forget-me-nots, Carnations, roses of thousends of colours and scents that almost made his head spin. However, He paused and approached. Flowers would be a perfect present for her. But they couldn't be just any types of flowers; they had to mean something to her.

Kenshin glanced over the flowers, noting their names, colours and scents, but was completely stumped. What did he know about flowers? Flowers were never really part of his job description, and it wasn't as if he had ikebana as a hobby in his spare time. However, a middle-aged woman who ran the stall saved him. Cheerfully, she said, "Welcome! Can I help you in any way?"

Kenshin smiled, "Ah, yes. Sessha would appreciate the help."

"Sessha? My, you're a strange young man. Well, What's the occasion?"

Kenshin could feel himself go red. "I…ano…for a…uh…" The flower woman chuckled as he floundered and smiled a smile of pure delight.

"It's for a young lady, hmmm? Close to your heart?"

Kenshin felt himself, if at all possible, go even redder than before. All he could do without turning into a stuttering fool was to nod slowly. Jeez, what would Saito have thought if he could see the great Battosai floundering over buying flowers for a girl? He would have laughed his socks off, no doubt about it.

"Do you want this flower to have a certain meaning?" She asked as she began browsing through the flowers.

Kenshin nodded again, hoping she would know what he meant. He thought he would just die if he had to tell her _exactly _what he wanted it to say. He looked at the lady for her recommendation. The lady pulled out three flowers of a deep crimson colour that's petals seem to twirl into a spiral to the middle. He was oddly reminded of folded silk, the way he saw Kaoru's ribbons fall occasionally.

"These are called Roses. They are a symbol of love and a simple gift for a loved one." she smiled as she began to tie a red ribbon around the stems to hold them together.

"Thank you so much! How much will that be?" he said as he pulled out his moneybag and began to count his coins.

Flowers now neatly placed in a small box; Kenshin began to make his way back towards the dojo when something caught his eye. In the window of a shop was a kimono. It wasn't just any kimono, however. It was white, glistening with an almost pearl-like quality. Trailing down the left side and the sleeves were pale, baby blue butterflies and pale pink sakura blossoms. It wasn't just a pretty kimono – it was stunning. Kenshin couldn't help but wonder what Kaoru would look like in such a kimono. He found himself blushing right there on the spot.

Quickly, he shook himself from his daze. _Face it Himura, you wouldn't have enough money to by her something like that even in a hundred years_, he thought dismally. He was just about to leave when-

"Excuse me!" Kenshin stopped and turned back to find a young woman coming from inside the shop. She ran up to him. "Are you the young man who lives with the Kamiya girl at the dojo?" she asked, a little out of breath.

"…Aa." Kenshin answered, unsure where this was going.

"Did you want to buy the kimono for her?" she asked solemnly. 

"Hai." he said. "But I'm afraid Sessha wouldn't have enough money for something like that, that I most certainly don't."

"You do know," She said, steering him back towards the shop, "that a lot of people scorn her because she allowed three men into her home, and she is not even married."

Kenshin gave a start. He had thought people wouldn't approve too much, but he hadn't realised people openly scorned her for her way of living. But Kaoru never complained about it.

"Do you want to win Miss. Kamiya's heart?" Kenshin turned a bright red. Eyes on her, he slowly nodded once more. The lady's face lit up in that instance.

"Well, you do realise if you marry her she won't be scorned anymore, and she can live in peace. It's wrong for people to judge her, just because she is a generous young lady! It's just wrong!" she said as she grabbed the kimono from the display table. "I see you also bought her flowers?" she asked as she eyed the flowers in Kenshin's hand. "Nice choice." she said as she began to wrap the Kimono.

"Excuse me onna-san! But Sessha doesn't have the money to pay for that, that I don't!" Kenshin replied as the lady finished tying the bow on top of the box.

"I'll tell you what..." the woman said, looking him in the eye, "you take this now and get the girl, and you send me an invitation to your wedding!" she said as she handed Kenshin the box with a sly smile. Kenshin took the box out of the lady's hand. His mouth opened but no words could express his gratitude.

"S-Sessha doesn't know what to say… This was just so gracious of you, that it was!" he said as he clutched the box.

"I'll be expecting an invitation real soon! Now go on home!" she said as she smiled a big smile and held open the door for Kenshin. This was certainly his lucky day! He could almost see the look on Kaoru's face when she receives the flowers. The kimono would be an extra special treat for the festival. Kenshin smiled. Yes, Shinya had been quite right. It would be for her sake. _His_ happiness would just be an added bonus.

o0o

Kaoru had just come back to the dojo from her visit to the clinic. Shinya had gone to practice his swings with Yahiko and Kenshin was now preparing the bath for her, having finished down town long before Shinya and herself returned.

Kaoru returned to her room to change into her Yukata and collect her wash basket when something caught her eye. Lying there on her folded up futon were three, delicate roses, their stems entwined and tied together with an elegant crimson silk bow. Picking up the flowers, she breathed in the sweet scent, marvelling at its smell, curious as to who would have left her flowers. The certainly hadn't been there when she had left that morning!

As she was contemplating, something slipped from the flowers and fluttered to the floor. Kaoru blinked, puzzled, as she looked to see what had fallen. It was a small card, only a few inches long, fallen face down on the tatami mat. Slowly, she lent down to pick it up, carefully turning it over so as not to rip it. Her eyes widened and shone, a wide, radiant smile appearing on her lips as the hugged the beautiful flowers to her breast. The card once more fell to the floor, but this time, face up. Across the card was a slightly rough hand, one that she most certainly recognised.

_Dear Kaoru,_

_With love,_

_--Kenshin_

…

To be continued…

Chosha's notes

So Kenshin finally bucked up his ideas – about time, stubborn baka. Anyway, Now that Kenshin has realised things – partly because of what Shinya had said to him, and partly what he 'read' in Kaoru's eyes during the kitchen incident. And even though we all know he's head-over-heals for her, in true Kenshin style, he is doing it more for her sake than his own. He still thinks she could do better than him, but knows what Shinya had said was true. As said in the story, his own happiness is an added bonus for him, one he never thought he would be able to have again - poor Kenshin. But now comes the festivities as the Festival has finally come! By the way, 'ikebana' is the Japanese term for flower arranging.

I hope you review and tell me what you think!

Next time on Fading Futures

The festival is almost here and it's time to go to Kyoto, but first they have to get to Yokohama port. _What do you mean we have to take the train!_ Next episode: To Kyoto…Again!

Ja ne for now, minna-san! See you next time!

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	14. Chapter 14

Chosha's notes

Welcome back minna! Thank you everyone for your reviews, I'm so glad you guys are liking this. Thank you reviewers: Kristy-chan, Xeno, Willow Evenstar, Inuwolf04, Lily of the Shadow, Cadbury girl, Hitokiri Musei, Crazy Hyper Lady andHitokiriTaijiya.I also hope that those of you who are reading, but not reviewing, are enjoying this too. I won't keep you with my rambles – here is the new chappy, just for you! Hope you read and review!

Disclaimer: Um… Me no own… still.

Last time on Fading Futures

Shinya and Kaoru got Megumi, Ayame and Suzume to go to the Festival, while Kenshin got his own plans underway.

Chapter Fourteen

To Kyoto…Again!

"Come on, come on! We're going to be late! Sanosuke! This is all you're fault!"

The day of the departure had finally arrived, much to everyone's anticipation. The dojo residence had all risen with the sun for last minute preparations, such as Kaoru making sure they all had their train tickets. Megumi, along with Ayame, Suzume and Tsubame (Who Shinya had yet to meet) had arranged to meet them at the train-station in Shinbashi. The train would go from there to Yokohama, where they would be taking the ferry from Yokohama port to the port at Kyoto, where they had arranged to meet up with Misao. However, things hadn't quite gone according to plan and they were now sprinting through the crowds and cutting it very close. Why? Because when Kaoru had got round to informing Sanosuke about the travel arrangements, Sanosuke had looked like the sky was about to cave in. In fact, the rooster-head had done the most hilarious expressions that Shinya was hard-pressed not to laugh in his face.

"_What do you mean, we're going by train?_!" He exploded. "I thought I told you that you ain't dragging me on no damn train again! We were lucky last time, but I tell ya, we're gonna find ourselves locked in the sewers by tanooki!"

Shinya literally did burst out laughing just then. "Kami! You can't be telling me you're scared of a hunk of metal!" Shinya sniggered.

"It's not natural, I tell ya! You ain't getting' me on no bloody train!"

After that, Sanosuke had refused point blank in moving. It had taken all four of them to drag Sanosuke, kicking and screaming through the gate and one hell of a lot of tugs to prise his fingers from around the gateway. They had all ended up in a large, swirly-eyed heap on the floor. As punishment for 'ruining her best kimono', Kaoru had ordered him to carry all the stuff or she would beat him senseless with a broken as an alternative. Of course, not even Sanosuke was stupid enough to go with the latter option, so now, with a few newly acquired lumps to add to his collection he was toiling with a bag almost as big as he was. As funny as it looked, seeing Sanosuke waddling under the weight, Shinya couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

"Did you really need to pack so much, Kaoru?" Shinya panted as they ran.

"It's better to be safe than sorry. You'll be thanking me if another gang of hijackers turned up and try to take over the train again! So, you got a problem, why don't you carry it!" Kaoru snapped, still annoyed Sanosuke had got them late.

"N-no, that's fine!" Shinya said quickly. "Sanosuke's a very strong guy! He's quite capable of doing it on his own!"

"Gee, _thanks_" Sanosuke said sarcastically.

"Don't you start, you jerk! This is you're fault!" Suddenly, her dark expression lightened slightly. "Look! There's the train!"

Shinya didn't know what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this! Through the crowd was a large, jet-black engine, smoke rising from the funnel at the front. It reminded him a little of the steam-train in the Harry Potter films, except for the colours and lack of Hogwarts sign. Behind the engine itself were several carriages with people leaning out the windows talking to the people on the station. Shinya grinned when he spotted Ayame and Suzume hanging out of one of the windows. They were laughing and waving to them. With a last burst of speed they ran and tumbled through the carriage doors, merely seconds before the conductor blew his whistle to tell the drivers to leave. Sitting up, Shinya grinned as he saw Megumi, Ayame and Suzume wave them over to the seats.

The Gumi all seated themselves as near as possible to each other as the train jerked into motion. Shinya glanced around at them, noticing a nervous looking girl with shoulder-length brown hair. He guessed that this must be Tsubame. Yahiko took the seat next to her.

"So, you gonna introduce?" Shinya said mildly.

Kaoru smiled. "This is Tsubame Sanjo. Tsubame-chan, this is Shinya Harada, one of my students. Tsubame here works at the Akebeko." She added.

Shinya grinned. "Reeeeeaaaaally…" Shinya smirked slyly at Yahiko. "So is this why you always seem eager to go to work. You wanted some time alone with you're girlfriend? That is so sweet of you." Tsubame blushed furiously.

Yahiko spluttered. "Sh-shaddup! She's not my girlfriend!"

Shinya laughed then said in a singsong voice, "Yahiko and Tsubame, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G"

"Grrrrrr! Ko-oni I'm gonna…!" Shinya ducked a swipe from the diminutive swordsman and laughed hysterically. Finally he turned to Tsubame, who avoided his eyes, face a deep crimson.

"Sorry," he apologised with a small smile. "The opportunity was to good to pass up. No offence meant - It's just funny to get him wound up. Way to easy to get under his skin." Tsubame giggled a little while Yahiko yelled, "It is not!"

"Sou ka, Yahiko-CHAN?"

"Don't call me CHAN!"

Shinya smirked and leaned back in the chair, his arms spread wide. "I rest my case." Tsubame and Kaoru giggled. Kenshin looked as if he was struggling not to chuckle to save any of what was left of Yahiko's pride.

Shinya was surprised when Sanosuke didn't join in. It was one of his favourite pass-times – tormenting Yahiko with the dreaded 'chan' word. Normally he would be sniggering and tormenting him a little more, ending up with a fuming Yahiko chomping on his hair. But when he turned to look at him, he noticed that he was sitting on the chair in an almost foetal position shivering, while Megumi was staring at him incredulously. Shinya raised an eyebrow. "What's up with him now?"

Kaoru shot him a glare and sighed. "He's superstitious. He thinks the train is moved by ghosts and we're going to be tricked and wake to find ourselves it the sewers."

Shinya and Megumi looked at each other and burst out laughing. "To think Ondori-atama is scared of trains. Ohohoho!" Megumi taunted, earning her a dark glare from said rooster.

"You know it's gotta be wrong somewhere for big tough-guy's like him to be cowering because of a steam train." Sighed Shinya. Kenshin and Kaoru snorted with laughter. "Anyway, why do you think it's called a '_Steam_ train'? Don't you think if it was run by ghosts, it would have been called a 'ghost train'?"

"No kettle could budge a thing this big!" Snapped Sanosuke. Yahiko merely sighed, murmuring "Here we go again…"

Shinya smirked. "You're delusional. Who said anything about a kettle?"

"Then how the hell does this thing move!"

Shinya sighed. "Well, I suppose you could compare it to a kettle." He admitted. "Have you ever seen a geyser? Well, think of the ones that push out heat in a jet of steam. If you put something onto it, it would be pushed into the air buy the pressure of the steam on it. It's the same on a steam train. The heat from the coal fires in the engine creates a load of steam, which is channelled through to the mechanisms. The way it's made makes the mechanism move because of the steam pressure behind it, which makes the wheels turn. Its something like that anyway." Shinya blinked at everyone staring at him. _Crud! What have I said now?_

"Wow!" Kaoru said, clearly impressed. "You sure seem to know a lot about steam engines!"

_Oh. Crap – better make up something…_ "Yeah well, I come from Yokohama. Things like that are a little more ordinary now, seeing as that's where the foreign colony is. I had a friend there who used to work with trains. I was always sorta interested, so he used to show me around on 'em 'n stuff."

Everyone seemed to take the answer and even Sanosuke seemed slightly more at ease, though he still jumped a mile every time the train got jostled on the tracks. Shinya sighed, sinking into his seat in relief before looking out the window. The train wasn't going amazingly fast, but Shinya knew he shouldn't have been expecting the speed of a bullet train (besides, they wouldn't be invented for at least several decades). It was going about twenty-five miles-an-hour or there abouts. The tracks were close to the waters edge, the sun shone lazily like tiny diamonds sewn across the surface. In the distance, though it was a little hazy, Shinya could just make out mount Fuji in the distance.

Meanwhile, back in the train, Ayame and Suzume were dozing, their heads resting either side of Megumi's shoulders. Yahiko looked out the window the other side from Shinya. Meanwhile, Kaoru sneaked a glance at Kenshin who was sitting opposite from her. Sword propped up against his shoulder, he was enjoying the view out the windows with a half smile. Kaoru blushed bright red and looked into her lap, fingering the edge of her lavender kimono. She couldn't help but think distractedly of how much she liked the kimono. It was one of her favourite colours. The same as his eyes…Oh not again!

Ever since she had received those flowers from him, Kaoru could hardly keep her eyes of the rurouni, never mind stop thinking about him. Roses, they had been; rich red in colour, the same as Kenshin's thick crimson tresses. It amassed her that he had brought her such beautiful things. Perhaps he did like her too, just like Shinya had said. 'With love…' that's what it had said on the card. Kaoru could feel happiness well up inside her that she hadn't felt in such intensity since it had truly hit her that Kenshin was returning home to Tokyo after the horrors that were Shishio. _Shinya, if it wasn't as secret between us two, I think I would kiss you. I know you helped._

She blinked when she realised she was staring at the rurouni again. Worse was the fact that Sanosuke had just caught the subject of her fascination. Turning bright red again, Kaoru looked away sharply.

Kenshin blinked a little at the sharp movement and glanced at the girl across from him from under his bangs. Her face was lit with a rather becoming blush. Her hair was in its usual ponytail, held back by a violet ribbon. The raven tail was swept over her shoulder, where she was fingering the silken locks. He could barely believe it. He had bought her flowers, which had put her in a dreamy, giggling daze for the rest of the day. When he had noticed the reaction, he had been heartened. He felt as if he would be able to tell her exactly what he felt when the time came. He felt a little nervous and excited at the same time. He sort of knew she had been casting him the occasional, dazed glance, which made his heart pound. Suddenly he realised someone was staring at him and it wasn't her. Sanosuke smirked with a raised eyebrow as Kenshin looked to see who it was. Kenshin blushed furiously. _Baka! You've been staring at the girl for ages now! No wonder he's giving me that look!_

Shinya looked at them out of the corner of his eyes, which sparkled in amusement, a smirk on his face. He couldn't wait for the festival now. Things had been taken out of his hands the moment Kenshin had screwed up the courage to utilise his own plans. _Heh, heh! I'm going to enjoy this._ He thought with a grin, putting his hands behind his head. He sniggered silently. _As they say, 'Let the games begin!'_

o0o

Despite Kaoru's warnings about 'coming prepared', the journey had passed relatively quietly – until Yahiko had started an argument with Sanosuke in regards to there being no such thing as ghosts after the train gave a particularly large clatter, sending the older one into hysterics again. It wasn't long before Megumi joined in ("I never thought you were _this _stupid Ondori" "Like you can talk Kitsune-onna!") while the girls cheered them on. Tsubame blushed furiously at the commotion they were making and the disapproving stares they were getting from the ticket man and passengers. Kenshin and Kaoru sunk down in their seats with embarrassment. Shinya wasn't too bothered and would have loved to join in – taunting Sanosuke had become something of a favourite pass-time. However, he couldn't very well argue there was no such thing as ghosts when he was sort of working for one himself. No, _that_ wouldn't make him a hypocrite, would it? Instead, he had just smirked and laughed at the expressions and arguments until the ticket man came along and gave them a severe talking to. But after a rather long trip, the train finally began to slow down as Yokohama came into sight.

Shinya had only ever been to Yokohama a few times in his life back in his own time, and that had been to visit his Mother's mom during the school holidays. So Shinya had to try not to look at everything at once. Many of the houses were western in style and the streets were even busier than those of Tokyo were. He wished he could go and explore, but that would have contradicted his story of having once lived in Yokohama himself. He was just watching a group of Japanese women having their picture taken by a western man in an old-styled suit when Sanosuke caught up with him. He took one look at the camera and shuddered. "Idiots. It's a tool of the devil. It'll take one year of your life every time you have one taken. It steals your soul!"

Shinya smirked. "I thought you had one taken before? So that's why you looked like you had a pin stuck up your arse on that picture back at the dojo."

Sanosuke grumbled under his breath something about Kaoru forcing him to do it and that it's her fault if the devil has their souls. Shinya just rolled his eyes. Both of them lightened a little when Kaoru was dragging Kenshin through the crowds to look at something on a stall along the way to the port while Kenshin laughed a little. Sanosuke smirked. "Its about time Kenshin started doing somethin' about that." He said. "I was gonna make him see straight about it with my fist if he didn't"

Shinya laughed. "Sometimes I think you really need anger management, Sano."

"What?"

Shinya sighed. "Never mind…"

They watched them a few more seconds until Sanosuke smirked again. "Wanna bet on it?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you wanna bet on when they're gonna get together?"

Shinya thought for a moment before looking over at him slyly. "A bet with you? You're always loosing at gambling. Plus, what would you bet with? You must be I-don't–know-how-much in dept!"

"I have money!" Sanosuke protested loudly.

"Since when? Last time I checked, you don't work, you don't get paid, you freeload off everyone. Oh yeah, did I already mention you're in dept with just about everyone in Tokyo?" Shinya smirked at his expression.

"Am not! Anyway, if you're a chicken…"

Now it was Shinya's turn to be insulted. "Am so not! I was just telling you some advice. One day you're gonna have everyone on your case. I'll play though – if you plan on loosing! I have pretty good luck in this kinda stuff. So, what's the bet then?"

"Okay. I bet ten sen they get together after the festival."

"Feeling _that_ lucky are we? That must be your life's earnings." Shinya laughed at Sanosuke's dark glare. He glanced at the two in front of them. Kaoru was looking giddy with happiness, while Kenshin watched with amusement and tenderness. He smirked again, remembering the package he had spotted Kenshin slipping into his things that he was willing to bet his bokken on was for a certain raven haired Kendo instructor. "Nah – I think during the festival. I bet the same amount that they'll be kissing each other by midnight!" besides, he still had nearly all the money the old priest had given him – he'd hardly used any of it during his stay with the Kenshin-Gumi.

"Deal!"

Shinya smirked again and shook on it. "Deal. Prepare to loose like you did at shogi!"

Before Sanosuke could work up a suitable retort, Kaoru had ran up to join them. "Hey Shinya! You used to live here, right? Do you want to go visit home at all?"

Shinya's mind started racing. Chikusho! He hadn't thought about that! "Erm… well, there isn't much of home to go back to… and, well, there's no one there anyway." He began to settle into a story. " It would just bring up bad memories if I went back now. It hasn't been all that long since… well…"

Kaoru and Kenshin exchanged a glance, sobering up immediately. "I'm sorry, Shinya. That was a little thoughtless of me…"

Shinya flashed her a small smile. "Don't worry about it. Besides," he added, pointing towards the dock, "I think our ride to Kyoto's here!"

To be continued…

Chosha's notes

Just a few thing to note about on this chapter. I actually have no clue how a steam engine works. It was just a speculation I had that I though Shinya could use. It will be of use later. I also made several references to an episode in the anime where they are on a train-trip to Yokohama – episode 22 in the Tokyo arc I believe. Of course, if you have only read the manga, this episode doesn't even happen. So yes – Sanosuke is actually extremely superstitious of trains, photographs etc.

This chapter was something like a bridge to the next one, which I have a few plans for, so I'm sorry if nothing much happened. I really wanted someone to have a bet on the KK thing in the story. At first I wanted to have Yahiko do it, but I thought he was saving up for a sakabato himself out of his earnings (or so he says in the manga), so he wouldn't want to bet it all away. Megumi I just couldn't see doing it just yet – especially since Shinya only just met her so hasn't even told her of the matchmaking episodes. That left good old Sanosuke to fit in the position.

The title of this chapter was actually a play on the Manga episode titles of acts 58 and 59 in volume eight, which is why it is 'To Kyoto-again!'

One last thing - The references to a priest was actually to the priest Shinya helped on his arrival to the past. If you didn't know… wait – if you didn't know, _what the heck are you doing reading this chapter! Go back to the start!_ Ahem… Anyway, if I forgot to mention something that's confusing you, Just review with your question, criticism, praise, whatever, and I'll do my best to set things straight.

Next time on Fading Futures:

Judgements… memories… confessions of a tormented soul. A little danger can change everything… Next episode, Star-crossed past

Ja ne for now! See you next time!

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	15. Chapter 15

Chosha's Notes

Konnichiwa! Welcome back to Fading Futures. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this so far, especially to my reviewers: Shauntell, Sofie, Kristy-chan, Aono, Crazy Hyper Lady and Hitokiri Musei. I hope that you enjoy this new chappy! I would love it if you could review and tell me what you think. But enough of my rambles – let the show go on!

Disclaimer: (raises eyebrow) haven't we done this enough times already? Sigh… guess not. Fine… Don't own. Never will. (Glares at solicitors) Happy now?

Last time on Fading Futures:

The Kenshin-Gumi set off for the Festival in Kyoto. Sanosuke had a stupid moment and Shinya and said rooster strike a bet on when Kenshin and Kaoru will finally confess their feelings.

Chapter Fifteen

Star-crossed Past

The ship stood at the harbour, larger than any Shinya had ever seen before. The masts reached to the skies, while a little steam game from the large black funnel. A wooden ramp lent against the side of the ship, where several people were already beginning to board for passage to Kyoto. Shinya grinned and turned to the others. "Well, come on. We can't just stand around here all day. We better get going, or all the good spots on the boat'll be taken."

Ayame and Suzume cheered. "Yay! Come on Ken-nii! Lets go!" And began to drag the helplessly laughing Rurouni towards the boat, while the others followed behind. It didn't take long before everyone had joined the queue to get on board. Kaoru flashed the tickets to the person at the bottom, who bowed them onto the ship. As soon as they were on board, Ayame and Suzume rushed forward to see the top deck.

"Don't go too far!" Kaoru called after them.

"Hai!"

She turned back to the others who were waiting behind her. "Come on!" she said cheerfully, "lets go find our rooms!"

She almost had to run to avoid getting trampled on by everyone else as they rushed forward.

The rooms weren't of a great size, but they were big enough to house at least two people for the journey. Kaoru immediately rushed into one room, which she was to share with Tsubame, Megumi took another to share with the girls which left Shinya, Sanosuke, Kenshin and Yahiko to work out who was sleeping where.

"I'm not sleeping in there with Yahiko." Shinya stated flatly. "Have you heard how loud he snores? I'd be awake all night! Dibs on a room without him in it!"

This lead to a squabble about who would share with the Ko-oni and who would share with Yahiko. After much squabbling, it was decided that Kenshin would share with Shinya. Kenshin had then slipped out before Sanosuke could object. Sanosuke therefore (despite all his protests) would be sharing with Yahiko. Surprisingly, through it all, Yahiko had remained oddly silent.

"Well, now that's all sorted, I'm going to explore a bit," Shinya said, ignoring Sanosuke's spluttering. He turned to Yahiko. "You wanna come with?" Shinya blinked a little as he saw the rather greenish hue on the younger swordsman's face. "Uh, Yahiko? Um, are you alright?"

Yahiko seemed to turn a little greener. "N-no I—" Suddenly he covered his hands over his mouth, his cheeks bulging slightly. Sanosuke's eyes widened as Yahiko began to stumble towards them, eyes scanning the room wildly. Sanosuke squawked and leapt behind Shinya.

"Don't throw up on me, Yahiko-chan!"

Yahiko didn't answer. Shinya was now extremely concerned. Yahiko not responding to the 'chan' jibe was like Kaoru actually being able to cook something that was actually edible. Kami, he really must be sick!

Shinya scanned the room quickly. As luck would have it, Shinya spotted a wooden bucket standing by a corner. As quick as lightning, Shinya swiped the bucket and thrust it towards the struggling boy, who snatched it out of Shinya's hands just as he threw up. Shinya felt faintly green himself, while Sanosuke gagged.

"Kami, we ain't even moving and you're already seasick?" Grumped Shinya, but without the usual spite as he gently rubbed Yahiko's back as he heaved in the bucket. "Perhaps you should come outside? The fresh air'll help you feel better." He suggested.

"You suggest I move like this?" Yahiko grumbled once he emerged from the bucket. Shinya rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You're hopeless…" Shinya sighed. Impish inspiration struck and he looked at the other boy slyly. "…You do realise that it'll get more bumpy as we get into open waters," Shinya added. Yahiko just hurled in answer. Shinya rolled his eyes again with a soft chuckle and patted his back a little more.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay, there's a ship waiting for me to explore. I'm sure I can leave you in Sano's capable hands."

Sanosuke and Yahiko stared at him in horror. "I ain't lookin' out for 'im while he's spewing his guts up! He'll ruin my shirt (it's the only one I've got!)" Sanosuke exploded, while Yahiko yelled "Wait, you can't leave me with him to look after me! He'd kill me!"

Shinya grinned and bolted, leaving as screaming Sanosuke and a hurling Yahiko behind.

A little later, Shinya wandered over the deck as the boat finally began to move. He couldn't help but think Sanosuke was going to kill him when he saw him next. Yahiko's seasickness would probably get worse in open waters. He amused himself with a mental picture of Sanosuke trying to help Yahiko as he was throwing up all over the place, causing him to laugh a little.

Shinya went to the boat's rails to look out over the water, leaning over the side to see his reflection in the water below. Shinya had never been to Kyoto before, neither in this time or his own, so he was quite looking forwards to it, along with meeting Onmitsu – perhaps the Okashira himself! He was sure there would be few who could brag they had met the leader of the infamous Oniwabanshu. He was sure his history teacher would be having kittens if he found out… if he hadn't sent him to the loony bin for suggesting it first.

Shinya sighed. That was if he would be able to return in the first place. It always came to that. One wrong move and he won't have to think about silly things like that. He wouldn't be thinking at all…

Suddenly he slapped himself on the face, causing one of the passengers to look at him worriedly. _Damn it! I have got to stop thinking about it. Sulking'll _really_ help – I think not!_

"Hey, Shin-kun." Shinya looked round to find Megumi arriving with Ayame and Suzume close behind. Shinya smiled, glad someone had interrupted his brooding.

"Hey Megumi-san. Have you had a look around the ship? Its amazing!"

"Yes – Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan wanted to show me some of the western things they found. Where are Yahiko-kun and the Ondori?"

Shinya nodded towards the door leading to the lower decks. "Down there the last time I saw 'em. You might want to check Yahiko, though – he's a, um, a _little _seasick. Plus Ondori'll kill me if I show my face any time soon. I think he'll try to throw the sick-bucket on my head for leaving him with Yahiko while he was throwing up all over the place." Megumi's eyes sparkled and she laughed in her own silly way.

"Serves him right for acting like such a big baby on the train then!"

Shinya laughed. "Say, where's Tanooki-sensei and Kenshin got to anyway?"

"I don't know. Last I saw them, they were heading over towards the front of the boat."

Shinya glanced at Megumi, suddenly picturing Kenshin and Kaoru doing their own version of the mushy 'Titanic' scene. Megumi caught his eye and seemed to be thinking along the same wavelength and they both burst into fits of laughter. "Let's hope they behave themselves." Shinya said through his laughter, which just made them laugh all the more. It took a full ten minutes to get their laughter under control, as when they thought it was safe and they looked over at each other again, it would return full force.

"Shinya! Where the hell are you! I'm gonna kill you for leaving me to play mom to Yahiko-chan!"

Shinya froze, before laughing as he heard the faint "Don't call me chan!" somewhere from the depths of the ship. "Woops!" Shinya said as he caught sight of Sanosuke, almost wreathed in flame, standing in the doorway. "See you!" and he bolted down the deck while Sanosuke ran after him yelling every insult he could think at the violet-eyed boy.

o0o

It was late and the stars were shining softly above in the dark shroud of night, casting eerie shadows in the depths of the Japanese Sea. The sea itself was calm and seemed like smooth onyx under the ship as is sailed, guided by the stars as its only light source. The almost-full moon cast a silvery glow upon the water, creating diamonds scattered over the onyx blackness of the sea. Everything seemed so quiet, even the waves made very little noise against the bow of the ship. It was as if time had stopped. Nothing at all seemed to be moving, or alive, except for one person standing solitarily at the front of the gliding boat, his crimson hair, bleached grey by the silver glow of the moon, flitting softly against his face, brushing his cross-shaped scar like a caress.

Kenshin leaned against the rails, looking out over the endless waters stretching out as far as the eye could see. Kenshin liked this time of night, so quiet and peaceful. Even when he was on his wandering as a rurouni, Kenshin had loved the peace brought on by night. The stars had always fascinated him. For a long time, the stars had been his only companions, seeming to hold answers that Kenshin could only wish to find. So Kenshin had enjoyed watching the stars, as if watching them long enough would encourage them to reveal their hidden secrets.

Of course, the peace this brought was a little hard to find since he had settled into the Kamiya dojo and he had had much more to think about than what the stars' hide. In settling down, Kenshin had found himself in so many situations it was impossible to count; some situations that even held him awe-struck. He could watch the girls for hours and find himself both sad and happy at once. Sad because he had never had the chance to be young, to do the things that they did. Yet, in contrast, he was happy – happy that those sacrifices he had made had given them a life he never got to have. Yes, Kenshin was not alone any more; he had other things to watch than the stars. He smiled softly. No matter what, he wouldn't change what he had now for the world.

"Kenshin…?"

Kenshin glanced round to see Kaoru standing by the door. She wore a pale sleeping yukata, a light blue haori clutched close against the night's chill. Her long, silken hair was braided loosely over one shoulder, almost seeming to shimmer in the silver light of the moon. A soft wind blew, causing loose strands of hair to fall against her face. Gently, she brushed them away with a hand. For a second Kenshin was stunned by how beautiful she looked just then. He swallowed.

"Kaoru-dono? You should be resting, that you should. It's been a busy day for all of us."

Kaoru looked away for a second. "I couldn't sleep" she admitted finally, though she decided not to tell him she had woken up to find Kenshin not in his room and had panicked, thinking he had left again. "Why are you out here?"

Kenshin sighed slightly and looked back over the water again. "Sessha couldn't sleep either…"

Kaoru walked over to the rails and lent against them too. Kenshin didn't complain, or seem uncomfortable by the closeness, so Kaoru relaxed and looked out at the water too, just happy to be near to him. They both stood in comfortable silence, watching the soft ripples in the dark water as the boat continued onwards, almost as if it were flying. Kaoru glanced at Kenshin, who's face was turned upwards, watching the stars with an almost sad expression.

Kaoru fidgeted for a moment, wondering whether to question him. Finally, she gathered up the courage and turned to Kenshin. "Are you alright?"

"…Aa. Sessha was just admiring the stars." The ex-hitokiri replied softly, lowering his gaze to Kaoru and giving her a small smile, so different from his usual Rurouni grin.

"They are very bright tonight, aren't they?" Kaoru said, looking up into the twinkling lights that reminded her of fireflies.

_Thank you and… Sayonara…_

Kaoru felt the tears welling up in her eyes and quickly averted her eyes, blinking the tears away, before risking a glance at Kenshin once more. Kenshin had looked away again, watching the stars. A slightly pained expression flitted across his face, but was gone before she could fully register it. He was silent for a moment, before he took a deep breath and, in a voice barely above a whisper, said "Back during the Bakumatsu...no one ever had the time to admire the sky..." He said softly, remembering the battles in the streets. "Fighting mostly took place at night, and even then, no one could admire the stars."

Kaoru glanced at him. Kenshin shivered a little and looked away, now down at the water below. Kaoru, though she had no Ki sense like Kenshin did, she could still feel a sorrow claiming him. "It hurts…to remember." She stated softly.

Kenshin almost laughed a little bitterly, "I was a fool, Kaoru-dono. No matter how long passes, those many crimes committed by 'Hitokiri Battosai' can never be repaid." He looked away and bit his lip. "It will never bring them back…"

Kaoru was silent for a moment, before saying softly; "It's not good to deal with it on your own Kenshin. You've never been able to talk about it to anyone, but sometimes talking helps to ease the pain." Kenshin blinked and looked over at her, somehow seeming younger and childlike in the doubt shown clearly in his eyes. Kaoru smiled a little. "I'm not pushing you, Kenshin. I just… I hate seeing you hurt like that. But if it hurts, let me share it. Let me help protect _you _for once, Kenshin…"

Kenshin looked at her for a second before leaning against the rails, his hair shadowing his bangs. Kaoru almost sagged in disappointment. When Kenshin did that, it usually meant he would not divulge anything.

"…You are braver… than I ever thought you to be… Kaoru-dono…"

Kaoru almost jumped at the unexpected sound, glancing at the redheaded rurouni. He seemed a little paler than before. But Kaoru knew he needed to let it out. Keeping it all bottled inside would only hurt him more. Hadn't ten years of wandering with little hope been enough? Even if it placed her in danger, Kaoru would face it willingly, so long as she would help banish that sadness in those gentle violet eyes.

Kaoru placed her hands on either side of the rurouni's face and turned it to look at her. She was almost startled by the raw emotion she saw there. "I'm not afraid, Kenshin. Please, tell me what happened, why you keep your eyes dry when you look like you need to cry." She brushed her fingers against his left cheek, across the red x marking it. "What happened to you, Kenshin? Whatever it is, I'll stay with you…"

Kenshin stood stock still, sucking in a gasp at the soft fingers against his cheek. He closed his eyes, trying not to lean into the touch and failing miserably as she traced the tender scaring. Kami, no one had ever touched him there. Not since… not since…

Not since _she_ died…

Biting his lip, Kenshin reached up and circled her wrist into his palm, pulling her hand away gently.

"Kaoru-dono" he said, in a strained voice. Kaoru stared into his eyes, noticing the raw pain in them. "Stop it. Please…"

Kaoru bit her lip too. She had pushed him too much. Sadly, she went to take her hand away, but Kenshin held onto it. He seemed to have become smaller all of a sudden, his shoulders slumped slightly. "Sometimes things are better off left hidden…" He whispered.

"But not this, Kenshin" she pressed a little.

"…I know…"

Kaoru squeezed his hand comfortingly, Kenshin returning it half-heartedly. Shakily, Kenshin drew in a breath and began. He told her of the Bakumatsu and how he had killed the man who was the first to have touched him with a sword and how he had come to meet Tomoe. He told her how he had brought the unconscious woman back to the inn, how he had to share a room with her, how he eventually fell in love with her as he helped to hold him together. Told how she became a sheath against his decent into madness. He spoke of the massacre of the Ikedaya by the Bakufu and how he had to go into hiding with Tomoe, and how they had married. He told her of the peace he hadn't known to exist before that he had experienced in Otsu and of how that peace had been shattered. He spoke without stopping and neither did Kaoru interrupt. They both knew that if he stopped, he wouldn't find the strength to continue – to bare his the wounds he had wrapped up tight, and show her the bleeding and torn soul he had hidden for so long.

Stumbling, voice barely audible, he spoke of how he had found out she was working for the Bakufu, yet had decide to save him rather than betray him. Kenshin told how he went after her, how he had been blinded and deafened by explosions and could barely fight. How he had faced the last man with his remaining strength… how she had jumped in front of them…how his sword slid into her chest…

Kenshin couldn't talk any more; his throat had closed off. He could only grip the rails as if it was his lifeline, shaking all over. Kaoru couldn't find any words to say to him. What could you offer as comfort to a man who had lost it all? Weakly, Kenshin managed to say, "Sessha left you once, because he wouldn't let the mistake happen again… Sessha… I wouldn't be able to even stay alive, if it happened again…" He managed to look up at her again, meeting shocked sapphire with tormented violet. "I don't want to loose anyone again… by my own foolishness…"

Kaoru watched as he leaned heavily on the rails again, his knuckles becoming white as he braced himself against metal, his torment hidden behind crimson bangs. Suddenly, she felt stubbornness taking hold and she placed her hand over his. Kenshin seemed to freeze under her fingers. He couldn't help but look up into earnest sapphire. She smiled. "You won't loose us, Kenshin. You won't lose anyone again – I promise" She was not going to let him be hurt any more. Never again. She loved him too much for that.

Kenshin's eyes shone for a moment and a single tear slid down his face. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him as he leaned his head on her shoulder and at last allowed the tears to fall.

They stood like that for some time, Kenshin leaning against her trembling silently as she rubbed his back gently and crooned softly in his ear. Finally, the tears would come no more and Kenshin pulled away a little. "Gomennasai…" he murmured.

Kaoru shook her head. "No need to apologise. Everyone needs to cry sometimes. Anyway, for all the times I've cried on you, I can't say anything."

Kenshin's eyes softened and he smiled a little, taking her hand in his own, entwining his fingers with her's. With a small sigh, he looked into her eyes once more.

"Kaoru-dono… Thank you…"

Kaoru beamed back at him and, hand in hand, they turned once more to face the moon.

To be continued…

Chosha's notes

I wanted to get a little romance in this chapter and Kenshin opening to Kaoru was one of the few things that desperately needed to happen. As this happened after the anime Kyoto arc, the revenge arc hasn't happened. Therefore, none of the Gumi know of Tomoe (except for Shinya, but that could be because he is working for her!). So, with that, it had to be told and this is my version of it. I didn't want to do a flashback (it'd take way too long) and I didn't want to re-word it into Kenshin telling Kaoru his life-story. For those who want this in detail, check out the revenge arc in the manga, or in the manga translation's on the Internet. Alternatively try the OVAs – though I'm shocked if you don't know the Tomoe-Kenshin stories. I've already told it in Tomoe's POV earlier on in this story (chapter seven - operation: get-together) so I thought it wouldn't be much point to repeat myself. The stuff before this was my weak attempts at comedy again, but it was needed, as it wouldn't explain how they got on and what was done. Plus I had to mention Yahiko's seasickness just out of fun.

Anything I missed? Questions needed answering? Comments wanted to be given? I'd love it if you made Chosha-chan very happy by reviewing and I will show my gratitude by answering.

Next time on Fading Futures:

The Gumi finally arrive in Kyoto, where they finally see Misao and Aoshi again, along with a few other surprise meetings. Next episode: Reunions.

Ja ne for now minna-san! See you next time!

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	16. Chapter 16

Chosha's Notes

Konnichiwa Minna-san! Welcome back to Fading futures and the long awaited sixteenth chapter! (Round of applause) Ahem… aaaaaanyway, thank you to Inuwolf04, BattousaiGrl, Sofie, Shauntell, Willow Evenstar, Kristy-chan, Crazy Hyper Lady, HitokiriTaijiya, Lily of the Shadows and Hitokiri Musei for reviewing last time. I'm just sorry it's taking so long to think up a good way to present each part. It's much harder than in RuroKen and the Philosopher's stone, partly because I have to do the entire thing from scratch. I'm really glad you lot have stuck with this. It makes Shinya and the others so happy (sniff). Please, Keep those Reviews coming!

Anywho, enough from me - Lets get this show on the road!

Disclaimer:

_(Shinya walks into the room to find Chosha Kurenai beating up the solicitors with a sakabato, who have been hovering over her since she started writing Fading Futures. Shinya looks confused towards Nii-chan, who is edging out of the way.)_

_Shinya: What's up with CK?_

_Nii-chan: The solicitors told her she had to do a disclaimer again._

_(Shinya double-takes, then grabs Nii-chan, the computer and the readers and pulls them out of the room for there own safety) They have GOT to have a death wish! She doesn't have that big a hold on her temper!_

_(Solicitors finally stagger out of the room and fall flat on their faces in front of them) _

_Shinya (to Solicitors): It's your own fault, you know._

_Nii-chan (sweat-drops): Er… CK doesn't own RK._

_CK (enters behind him, vain throbbing and sakabato in hand, grinning dementedly): What was that, Nii-chan?_

_Nii-chan and Shinya: Eep!_

_CK: Good boys. Now… (Snatches back computer from Shinya)_

Last time on Fading Futures:

Everyone get on board the boat to Kyoto. Shinya and Sanosuke had problems with a sea sick Yahiko, but later, Kenshin and Kaoru have a little heart to heart and Kenshin is finally able to let go…

Chapter Sixteen

Reunions

Everyone cheered when land came into sight, especially Yahiko, who had spent most of the trip throwing up over the side of the boat. Shinya rushed to the front to get a good look. He was finally going to get to meet real live ninja! And the Okashira at that! Misao and Aoshi were going to meet them at the port. From there, they would take a carriage into the main streets of Kyoto itself. Shinya couldn't wait!

The excitement must have shown on Shinya's face, because seconds later Megumi came up to him. "You look ecstatic," she observed.

Shinya glanced round with a grin, leaning on the metal railings as he watched to upcoming land. Somehow, he didn't feel stupid telling the Lady-doctor. She had grown something of an older sister figure in the little time Shinya had known her. "Well sure I am. I've never been to Kyoto before. Ever since I was really small, I always wanted to travel, see the world. Plus, I've never got to see Onmitsu before, and the Oniwabanshu themselves are one of the most infamous groups of Ninja."

Megumi smiled slyly. "Well, lets hope you don't get too disappointed then!"

"What, me?" Shinya said in mock surprise. "Never!"

The port itself was crowded with hundreds of people. Shinya guessed that the festival was an exceptionally busy time for tourists. Children and adults alike waved up at them as the ship finally came into harbour. Shinya scanned the crowds to see if he could see anyone who fit the descriptions that Kaoru had given him of their escorts, until he realised how stupid it was trying to look for ninja in a crowd in the first place. Shinobi were renowned for their abilities for blending in unnoticed. How else were they to do their jobs as spies?

The anchor was dropped, along with the large ramp and everyone headed towards the exit. Kaoru had to grab hold of Kenshin when something streaked passed her, almost knocking her into the water. She glared as the blur came to a halt – Yahiko had been desperate to get his feet on solid ground, that was for sure! Shinya wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel sympathetic.

Getting off the boat was one thing. Finding Misao and Aoshi…not so easy. The dock was packed with people; it was hard to breathe without knocking into someone. Kenshin and Kaoru had to hold tightly to the hands of Ayame and Suzume, lest they get lost in the crowds, while the others tried to stay as close as possible so they wouldn't get separated. So, it was just Shinya's luck that a large man who looked as if he trained to be a sumo wrestler knocked into him hard, sending him falling into another person, who stopped him landing on the floor with a hand to the back of his shoulder.

Shinya gasped as he rubbed his side where the sumo-like man had knocked him, glad he hadn't fallen or he would have been crushed underfoot like an ant. He turned to thank the person who had saved him from that fate. He found himself staring at a black garbed chest. Looking up, Shinya's amethyst eyes met icy-cool blue ones. He blinked and gasped.

The man had jet-black hair that fell about his rather handsome face, framing it with long, yet somehow neat bangs. He looked down at him unsmilingly, though Shinya didn't get the feel he was angry with him. He was wearing a long, white trench coat over black clothing. Shinya gulped. He had literally just fallen into the Okashira of the Oniwabanshu himself – Aoshi Shinomori!

"S-Sumimasen, Shinomori-san!" He gasped. Aoshi raised an eyebrow. Of course, Shinya berated himself; Aoshi wouldn't know who on earth he was.

"Wow! You look just like Himura!" Piped up another voice. Shinya looked round to find a girl who looked surprisingly like Yukie it was uncanny. Shinya had to rub his eyes just to make sure. She had long black hair tied back into a braid down her back, her young face framed by shorter bangs. She had brilliant green eyes that sparkled with energy and, Shinya noticed, she was around the same height as himself, give or take a few inches. She was dressed in what looked like a short blue kimono-like shirt and shorts lined with white.

"What?" Shinya blurted as it dawned on him what she had said.

"You look like Himura! If it wasn't for the hair – doesn't he look just like him, Aoshi-sama!" Good lord, this girl had more energy than Yukie on a sugar high! Shinya gaped. He had to wonder how someone could talk so fast and still retain their natural complexion at the end of it. Suddenly she seemed to notice something. "Ooo, Aoshi-sama, there they are! Hey you–" and she grabbed Shinya by the ear, dragging him through the crowds towards Kenshin and the others, yelling for them. Everyone looked around, their faces breaking into smiles as the saw the friends long unseen.

"Wow, Himura, I didn't know you had family!" she finally said, waving towards Shinya, who had, by this point, crossed his arms in annoyance, still half bent over as Misao still had a firm hold of his ear.

Kenshin laughed. "He's not, Sessha is afraid. That's Shinya Harada – he's the new student at the dojo that Kaoru-dono told you about."

'Really! Kaoru-san! Your dojo's getting back on track then?"

But before Kaoru could answer, Shinya tugged on the younger girl's sleeve. "Hate to break the reunion… but do you mind… ear…"

"Woops!" Misao let go of him, allowing Shinya to straighten up and rub at the sore appendage. Sanosuke and Yahiko laughed. Shinya glared, but his eyes glittered mischievously.

"Oh, would you like to try it? Here!" Shinya reached up so fast they couldn't stop him and yanked them down by the ears. They squirmed, yelling at him to lay off while the other's laughed.

Kenshin turned to Aoshi, who stood silently near by. "Konnichiwa Aoshi" Kenshin said politely. Aoshi nodded to him.

"Battosai," He acknowledged. Yes, never a man of many words was Aoshi. Still, at least this time he wasn't attempting to kill him – they had sorted out their promised battle on Mount Hiei.

Meanwhile, Shinya was getting more and more nervous as Misao kept comparing him to Kenshin. "I mean, he's got the eyes and everything!" She was saying. She turned to Shinya. "Were did you say you were from?"

"Yokohama…" Shinya sighed. He was starting to wonder how such a hyper girl could be one of the Oniwabanshu. Perhaps she was a better fighter than she was a spy? Anyway, if he didn't want people to get too suspicious of him, he was going to have to move the convocation in the direction it should be going in. "So, Misao isn't it? Apart from the little incident with the ear, It's nice to meet you."

"Oops, yeah, sorry about that…" she said with a small laugh, "Nice to meet you too!"

Shinya turned to Aoshi nervously. Kami, the man just seemed to radiate authority. He was the type of man you felt you had to speak to respectfully. "Um… sorry about falling into you, Shinomori-san. Thanks for the help though."

Aoshi seemed to accept the apology, while Yahiko and Sanosuke stared at him. "You fell into him?" sniggered Sanosuke. Shinya glared at him.

"You try keeping on two feet after getting knocked over by someone who could pass for a sumo, Ondori-atama!" he snapped. He ignored the surprised look on his face at the rather scathing retort. It was way too warm and crowded here and that tended to make Shinya feel a little cranky. However, he tried to liven up a little as Misao got introduced to Ayame and Suzume, who she seemed to take an instant liking to. But unless you had a heart of pure steel, the girls were too cute not to like!

Finally, much to Shinya's approval, they finally managed to get out of the crowds and take a carriage towards Kyoto. Everyone was talking (or arguing, as it seemed to be between Misao, Sanosuke and Yahiko. Mostly it was along the lines of "Weasel-girl" "I am not a weasel you stupid rooster" "She has a point, Sanosuke" "Shut up, Yahiko-chan" "Don't call me CHAN!") about how things have been, except for Aoshi, who didn't say much unless a direct question was made to him. Shinya found he couldn't add much to it for the moment, seeing as he didn't know about some of the things they spoke about, so he mostly listened as he gazed out the window to watch Kyoto making its way nearer and nearer.

Shinya felt himself smiling. This was the place where operation: get together was going to reach its final stage…

o0o

Kyoto, to Shinya, was a labyrinth of walls and maze-like streets that, if he hadn't been following Misao, Aoshi and the Kenshin-Gumi, he would have got lost in ten seconds flat. The streets were full of people wearing traditional Japanese clothing that in some cases looked like works of art rather than clothes. The streets were lined with winding alleys, dead ends and shops of all kinds – tea, fruits, books, tools, you name it, they had it! Everywhere he looked he saw decorations—gaily painted wind socks fluttering in the breeze, little shrines springing up everywhere surrounded with flowers. As they passed neared the river, he could see a long line of festival carts and crowds of children surrounding them. In some of the small marketplaces they passed, puppet theatres had sprung up. Shinya noticed puppeteers were practising. They looked a little like the punch and Judy shows Shinya had seen as a little child when he had gone to England on holiday. He would have loved to stay and watch the miniature samurai and geishas in their old-fashioned dress talk and fight with one another as if they were real, but he didn't think getting lost would help on his first day in Kyoto.

While there were walking, Shinya chatted with Misao. He found out she was a about two years older than him and that she was the kind of person that just seemed to make you more energetic just by being close too. Shinya questioned her about life as a ninja. He had always been interested in Ninja since he was little and his grandpa told him stories about them, but he never knew what it would actually be like to be one (though when he was small he used to pretend). Misao told him all about the Onmitsu: Okon, Omasu, Kuro and Shiro, who he would meet at the Aoiya. As Shinya was showing so much interest, she even stated that he should ask 'Gramps' about becoming one himself. Shinya was greatly tempted, but he knew he couldn't, once his 'job' was finished.

On the other hand, she bombarded him with questions about western things he would have experienced had he really lived in Yokohama. Shinya told her about a few things such as the trains and cameras, but subtly sidestepped any direct questions about anything that got too close to his life before meeting the Kenshin-Gumi. He was sure Aoshi had noticed, but thankfully, he didn't comment.

It was no time at all that Shinya found himself to be friends with the girl. She reminded Shinya more of some of the girls' back home, rather than most of the women who were in this era. He guessed it came from the culture before the Bakumatsu. He had to admit, even though she still amazed him with her hyperness, she seemed like the perfect person to partner up with if he was matchmaking. He seriously considered telling her about the Kenshin-Kaoru stuff.

Kaoru finally turned to Misao. In a low voice, she said, "So Misao-chan, how are things going with Aoshi then?"

This got Shinya's attention, his eyes sparkling. Misao and Aoshi? Somehow, it did seem oddly right, those two together. As they say, opposites attract. Misao's smile slipped a little.

"He's better than he was," she admitted. "At least, he's not spending all of his time in the temple anymore. And he does seem to be a little more open with us now, but… he still hasn't smiled yet! I think I saw his lips twitch a few days ago, but, it could have been a trick of light."

"He could have been," Megumi said, "Though the idea of him smiling at all seems odd to me."

"It so does not!" Misao cried indignantly.

"Have you tried tickling him yet?" Shinya suggested.

They paused for a second, thinking about how that picture would look and burst out laughing, causing Sanosuke and Yahiko to look at them strangely.

Meanwhile, Kenshin had placed a bandage over his left cheek to cover his scar. It didn't matter how long had passed, memories of the Hitokiri Battosai would be fresh in peoples minds. Coupled with the fact that Kenshin had come here to fight once again only a year before, that memory would be even clearer. Somehow he didn't think the stares would let him have a very enjoyable time (he got enough of that with the hair) and that was the least that could happen if someone saw the scar. It wouldn't be hard to put two and two together to find that the red haired rurouni and the Legendary Hitokiri were one and the same. Not everyone would take the truth of his identity so passively as Kaoru, Yahiko and Shinya had done. Even Sanosuke had challenged him to a fight when he first found out – though that might have had more to do with what had happened to Sozo Sagara rather than what he himself had done.

Still, he didn't let that bother him for the moment, as he watched his friends chatting and Misao pointing out different things on the stalls. It was strange, being back in Kyoto again, but what was even stranger and had Kenshin almost reeling was the fact that he wasn't here to fight. Of the times Kenshin had been in Kyoto, once was during the Bakumatsu and once was during the fight with Shishio. Never in his life did he think he would come back again for something as fun and trivial as the star festival. He half wondered whether he should visit his Shishou while he was here, but mentally cringed away from the thought. Last time he had met with him, Hiko had told him not to 'come crawling back to him if he ever had similar problems'. Kenshin didn't know whether the man was joking or not. He never could tell.

Besides, Hiko didn't live as a hermit for nothing.

Still, he might go visit him anyway. Despite the guy having an ego the size of Japan itself, Hiko still taught him the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. If it weren't for him, Kenshin would have most likely died from the bandit attack that had killed everyone else in that slave group. And he wouldn't be here now, watching his friends laughing and joking, or see the radiant smile from the one girl he would give up everything to protect.

As they were walking, Kenshin felt a familiar ki. He stopped and looked down the shadowy alleyway at his side. Leaning on the wall of the ally was a man, dressed in a police uniform, smoking on a cigarette. He had a longish face with dark hair, four thick strands falling over it. Amber, slightly arrogant eyes watched him. Kenshin recognised him immediately.

"Battosai." He said.

Kenshin turned to face him. "Saito. Sessha thought you were still alive. You aren't the type of man who would die in a fire like that." The ex-Shinsengumi captain smirked.

"I never thought I'd see you back in Kyoto, Battosai," he said. "Ah well, I guess all good things have to come to an end."

Kenshin decided to ignore that. If he got angry at everything Saito said, he would still be here by next year, and then some. "What do you want, Saito."

Saito just looked back at him coolly. "I see your manners haven't improved."

"I respect those who deserve it."

Saito just smirked and puffed a smoke ring before stubbing it out on the wall. "I still patrol here, Battosai, because, unlike you, I still have work to do. Kyoto may look safe at the moment, but there are still those who supported Shishio still at large. I'm here to make sure nothing happens during the festival."

Kenshin felt his stomach clench at those words. His eyes narrowed. "What do you—"

"KENSHIIIIN!"

"Oro!" Kenshin spun round to find Kaoru standing with her hands on her hips a little ahead of him.

"What are you doing daydreaming? The others have already gone ahead of us!"

Kenshin glanced round again at the ally, but was surprised when he didn't see any sign of Saito except the cigarette stub still smoking on the ground. He guessed that Saito was not planning to show himself to the others then. He guessed he should feel privileged if the baka didn't annoy him so much. Still, what he said made him feel a little uneasy.

But he didn't have much time to think about that as Kaoru grabbed him by his ponytail and began dragging him painfully after her, mumbling about his daydreaming got them left behind again, which was barely audible over Kenshin's stream of Oros.

It wasn't long before they caught up with the others and closed in on the Aoiya. In Kenshin's opinion, it looked a lot bigger than the first time he had seen it. Then again, it had been knocked down during the ambush of the Juppon Katana members. It was partly his fault, therefore, that it had to be re-built in the first place. However, Misao had said in her letter that the Aoiya was working loads better than before, so he didn't feel so guilty.

Misao looked to Shinya, who looked slightly surprised it was an inn that they had come to. "This is it, Shinya-kun! Welcome to the Aoiya!"

To be continued…

Chosha's notes.

Um… I hope I wasn't too OOC at all. Sorry if I was, didn't mean to be. I just seem to have problems sticking to character, even one of my own. For instance, Shinya was meant to be more like Kenshin, sort of how he is at the start of Fading Futures. Now he's got more of me in than I thought possible!

You know, after I posted the chapter where Shinya hears about the Oniwabanshu and they get the letter and everything, I had someone ask if it would have a Shinya-Misao paring. (You know who you are). But, I think Aoshi-Misao fans would kill me. Plus, Shinya already has a Girlfriend back in his time. Though Yukie was based on Misao a little, with a mix of Kaoru, I couldn't have Shinya cheat on her. I'm not that kind of writer. Firstly, I think Nii-san would kill Shinya if he did that

(Nii-chan: Damn right!)

Secondly, Yukie would kill me and Shinya wouldn't help save me from the violent beating

(Shinya: If I tried, she'd kill me too. S'not my fault you made her so much like Misao and Kaoru!)

Lastly, I'd bodge it up anyway, as I don't want to see Shinya cheat on Yukie – specially since he is uncannily like me in nature!

Reviewer Shauntell did say she wasn't sure about the boat thing, as on the map, Kyoto seems more inland. I bet loads more spotted that as well, so I thought that I'd tell you why I did that. Not only did I get a cute KK moment in there, but I was also partly following the journey that Kaoru and Yahiko made to Kyoto to get Kenshin back. They, on that, took the train (or so it says in the manga for the back trip – I just reversed it) from Shinbashi to Yokohama, then took a ship to Kyoto. (Shrugs) Well, I'm sure Watsuki-sama knows much more about Japan's layout than me, who has never been to Japan, unfortunately, so I stuck with that way to travel. Sorry if I confused anyone with that over the last few chapters.

Anything I missed or you want to comment on? Don't hesitate to review and ask me. I promise to get back to you with any answers you might need. Even if you don't have any questions, please review anyway and tell me what you think.

Next time on Fading Futures:

Shinya gets to meet the rest of the Kyoto-based Ninja clan and they all have a taste of a normal life in Kyoto. But wait one cotton-picking minute – who the hell is _she_? Next episode: Yoake

Ja ne for now, Minna-san! See you next time!

Chosha Kurenai xXx


	17. Chapter 17

**Chosha's Notes**

_OMG! I mean OMG! I actually updated! Hey there! Welcome back minna-san! I am So, so soooooooooo sorry that this chapter took as long as it did. First I get the dreaded writters block (argh!) then I lost half my stuff (dumb floppy disk) and then I thought stuff it and continued with my other stories cause I'm a lazy git. But, after years of waiting, here it it, the next chapter!_

_Shinya: finally!_

_CK: bugger off! You know that I could just stop the story altogether!_

_Shinya: (wide eyed) you wouldn't!_

_CK: not when I have so many people who don't want me to stop, but you have been warned, Shin!. Anyways, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last time, if you remember who you are, anyway after so long (blushes) for your reviews. Also, to anyone out there who's reading but not reviewing, thanks for watching out for this chapter!_

_Shinya: they still aren't reviewing though. They might hate it._

_CK (bonks Shinya on the head): Shut it Shin! They're still reading and that's enough for me! If they hate it, they could always complain... actually, I'm surprised I haven't had any major complaints with Fading Futures. For a fist time story, I'm impressed!_

_Shinya (rubbing his head): before she starts rambling, lets get the party started!_

_Disclaimer:_

_Shinya (helps Nii-chan to hold back a struggling Chosha Kurenai): Look, she doesn't own it! Now scram before I set her on you!_

_Solicitors: scarpered._

_Last time on Fading Futures:_

_Finally, they arrived in Kyoto and, after bumping into Aoshi (literally), they set off for the Aoiya. But Kenshin has something to think on after he meats up with Saito again._

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Yoake**

The inn was a large building in a traditional Japanese style with sliding doors and a tiled roof. Above the entrance hung a sign that pronounced 'Aoiya' in large kanji. It also had the look of a rather newly made and fashionable building. Misao slid open the door energetically. "Hey Gramps! We're back!"

An oldish man with a thick moustache dressed in a man's kimono and a sleeveless haori turned to them. "Misao! Aoshi - welcome back." He turned his eyes on to the Kenshin-Gumi standing in the doorway. "It's good to see you again. I'm glad you accepted the invitation to come, especially you Himura-kun. It's been so long. Misao, go fetch the others."

It wasn't seconds since the words left his lips that two girls and two boys burst through the doors into the room. When they saw them, their faces broke out into happy grins. "Kaoru! Himura! Everyone, you came! It's been ages!"

Shinya made sure he backed off hastily with Ayame and Suzume before the four other Onmitsu piled onto the Gumi and they got crushed, finding himself standing next to the stoic Okashira. He watched as they greeted each other energetically with a small smile. "Well, they sure don't lack the energy, huh, Shinomori-san?" He glanced up at the other man.

Aoshi snorted. "True"

Shinya suddenly found himself dragged into the crowd by Kaoru. It was only by sheer will power that he didn't blurt out an Oro in shock. Happily, Kaoru waved he hands at Shinya and the girls. "Those two are Ayame and Suzume - Dr Gensai's granddaughters. And this here is my newest student, Shinya Harada.

Everyone turned to look at Shinya. Nervously, Shinya raised a hand in greeting. "Er... Hey?"

Sanosuke gave him a glare. "Don't play shy and innocent, Ko-oni! Shin may look clueless, but he's the devil incarnate, I tell you."

Shinya glared. "Hey, I resent that comment! In no way do I look clueless! Stupid rooster."

Yahiko laughed. "Note he didn't deny he's like the devil incarnate."

Shinya blinked at him, trying to look innocent and failing miserably. "What's to deny? Innocent until proven guilty, Yahiko-chan"

"STOP CALLING ME CHAN!" Shinya just shrugged over-dramatically.

The Onmitsu laughed at the exchange. Finally, the man Misao called 'Gramps' spoke up. "Then I guess I'll have to introduce myself. I am Nenji Kashiwazaki, once one of the Oniwabanshu. However, I am referred to as Okina." He gestured to the other spies behind him. "Those two are Okon and Omasu." The two girls - one a tallish young woman with long hair and the other a little taller than Misao, hair tied into a bun - waved and said hellos. "And those two are Shiro and Kuro." Indicating the two boys. One was tall - about the same size as Sanosuke with a slim, muscular form and spiky hair, while the other was a broad Onmitsu with a strong jaw, who was even taller than the first male Onmitsu. "Of course, you have already met Misao and Aoshi."

Shinya decided to try and make a good impression. With a small bow, he said, "Thanks for the invite, Okina-san. I've gotta say, your inn looks great, even if it is only partly used for that."

Okina seemed to swell with pride at that. "Well, I must say it has been much better since it was rebuilt-"

"Well, it should!" Misao piped up. "We spent ages fixing it after those Juppon Katana attacked."

"Hm, I was told about that." Shinya said, "But you guys must be really strong to beat them, from what I heard."

"Yeah!" Misao made a victory V. Shinya grinned. Her hyperactiveness was infectious.

Okina turned to them again. "Anyway, you're just in time for lunch. Shiro and Kuro have made a feast in celebration."

Sanosuke and Yahiko were gone. Shinya sweat-dropped. "...I do hope you realise that if we don't hurry after them, there won't be a feast to see, let alone eat."

Everyone looked at each other for a second, before they bolted after them, Kaoru screaming "Don't you dare start without us you Jerks!" Shinya snorted with laughter as they scrambled, falling over each other, while Aoshi watched impassively, but his eyes somewhat warmer than before. They followed swiftly behind.

o0o

A cloaked figure stood at the top of a hill overlooking the bustling streets of Kyoto, the wind blowing the cloth to make billow around the person impressively. The face was covered by a wide hood, so only the mouth and chin could be seen, while intense, dark eyes glinted from the shadows and round the figures neck was a thin scarf of a deep, blood red. Beside the hooded figure stood three men. One of them was large and muscular, his biceps bulging without the presence of sleeves in his dark blue gi. Strapped to his back were two katana, that criss-crossed each other. The other two men were covered from head to toe in black gi and hakama, kneeling a little further back than the man and the other figure, their heads bowed, but they watched the figure carefully, to respond if the figure gave the order. But for now, the figure ignored the two servants and the man. The glinting eyes followed the movements of a group of people as they chatted and walked through the maze like streets. After a little while though, a smile graced the face, but it made the two kneeling men shiver.

"So, they have returned," the voice wasn't deep enough to be a man's, sounding a silky purr from within the cloak. It would have sounded seducing, able to talk birds into the figures hands if she wanted it to, yet it also sounded as deadly as a blade cutting through the air, skin and bone. "I have been waiting for this day…for so long…"

The man beside the figure inclined his head. "They have all returned, just as you had predicted."

The smile widened. "You do not know how I have longed for this day, the day I finally bring my plans into action. To take from them as much as they took from me…"

Suddenly, the figure threw back her head and laughed, causing even the largest man of the group to cower at the voice. This was not the sound of a humorous, warm laugh, but was as cold as ice and dark as a tomb. It was a laugh that sent the fear of the gods running through these men who served the dark cloaked figure. When the person laughed this laugh, it was like hearing the final bell toll. When the person laughed like this, it was a sure sign that someone was about to die a slow and painful death…

The figure snapped round, a cold fire blazing in those intense, raptor-like eyes. "Now is the time. Prepare your men. Our plans are set in motion tonight!"

They bowed low. "Shujin!" and all but vanished in haste to fulfil the figure orders.

The figure turned back to look down on the crowd again, watching as the group came to a halt by what looked like an inn of some sort. The smile was sinister. "You will be mine," she purred. "Come, come to my arms. Come to the arms of death."

The figure laughed once more before turning on a heel, the cloak billowing around her like a shadow as the figure descended down the hill into the shadows of the coming night.

o0o

"Wow! Shiro-Kun, Kuro-kun, I never knew you could cook so well. This stuff is great!"

Shiro grinned at the complement. "Thanks, Shinya-kun, but I've heard that you're quite the chef yourself."

Shinya snorted. "Maybe. I can cook some stuff, but ask me to cook anything else and I'm buggered."

The other's laughed. It was then that Shinya spotted Sanosuke eyeing the remaining rice ball on Shinya's plate. He snatched it up just as Sanosuke dived for it, sending him head long across the table and landing with a crash on the other side. Everyone went silent, until Sanosuke emerged from the other side of the table, glaring at Shinya. The boy just grinned and stuffed the rice ball in his mouth before Sanosuke could make a second attempt. Sanosuke gaped at him.

"Again! You did it again!" he cried, exasperated. "How the hell did you find out this time, Ko-oni?"

Shinya laughed. "Oh, please, what do you take me for? You do the same thing every mealtime. You're so predictable!" he patted the rooster on the head. "Now, if you're a good little rooster and be polite, I might let you be nice and get one next time."

Sanosuke growled obscenities under his breath.

Shinya's eyes widened. "Golly, I didn't think you knew that much stuff. I'm hurt that you would think of me like that Sano. I'm shocked, I tell you – shocked!"

Sanosuke sat there gaping like a fish. "How…How the hell does he do that! I wasn't even speaking that loud!"

Shinya smirked. "That's for me to know and you to go crying every night 'cause you'll never find out."

Misao laughed and high-fived the boy, who laughed along with her. Kenshin sweat-dropped. "He's just like Shishou, de gozaru…"

"Anyway, You guys have been really secretive yourselves," Kaoru said to the Onmitsu all seated round the table. "What have you all got planned for us anyway?"

Misao jumped to her feet. "Today we'll do it all in Misao's personal guided tour of Kyoto's greatest sights, because someone-" she gave Kenshin and Kaoru a hard look, causing the former to 'Oro' and the latter to blush. "Decided to disappear off back to Tokyo before we got to do it last time. Remember?"

Kaoru prodded her fingers together. "We already said we were sorry…"

Shinya grinned. "Sugoi! I've never been to Kyoto before. It's a good thing they didn't last time. Now I get to go too!"

Misao cheered. "All right! That's cool. We'll show you all the best sights in Kyoto!" she pulled out a bunch of papers from within the folds of her gi-like shirt and threw them down on the table. Shinya blinked and craned his neck to try to read then upside-down papers and almost sweat-dropped. Each and every one of them was guidebooks of one type or another.

Okina and Misao jumped at the guidebooks and pored over them with great glee on their faces. The look was sort of scary.

"Oooooo! The Temple of the Golden Pavilion! I wanna go there!" Misao proclaimed, loudly.

Okina shook his head. "No, no, I told you last time, Misao, the Silver Pavilion is much more elegant."

Misao pouted. But the look didn't last long and she was soon grinning again. "Oh, Lookie, Lookie! I wanna go there!" she jabbed at the map excitedly.

Sanosuke covered his ears with his hands. "Ugh! Someone tell the weasel-girl to shut up! She's so damn loud!"

Without looking back, Misao punched him over the head, but was obviously too excited about the trip to say anything in return. Okina was looking over her shoulder at the place she was pointing to. "Much better. The Katsura detached palace is meant to be very nice to behold, 'specially in spring-summer time. How about Kyoto imperial palace - Oo, and the Nijo castle?"

"How about you, Aoshi-sama?" Misao piped up, holding up the guidebook in front of Aoshi's face, who jerked back at little, blinking in surprise. That made Shinya blink too. Aoshi had actually made an expression! It was like, I don't know, the sky falling in!

Aoshi just nodded and pointed to a dot on the graph. "There, then."

Misao flipped the book to see where he was pointing. "Another temple, Aoshi-sama!" She said, half in exasperation. Aoshi's eyes seemed to shine with amusement, even though his face did not twitch. Shinya couldn't help himself.

"Were you just joking, Shinomori-san?"

Suddenly, about five or six hand's went to Aoshi's head, as if checking his temperature. Aoshi just glared.

After much debating and even a few scuffles about where to go, The group now headed out into the busy streets of Kyoto, with a very hyperactive Misao and Okina in the lead. Unfortunately for Okon, Omasu, Kuro and Shiro (though this was debatable) were busy running the Aoiya, so had to apologise that they could not come with them. However, Misao and Okina were more than ready to make up for it all. The way they were acting then, you could just tell that they were related. It was actually rather funny, watching them strut through the streets, pointing out some of the sights.

Apart from seeing some of the greatest things that Kyoto had to offer, the day passed rather smoothly until they came close to finishing their last destination for the day. Once more, a fight had broken out between Misao, Sanosuke and Yahiko about which they should see before they headed off home. Megumi, rolling her eyes, apologised to passers by who were looking rather shocked at the cloud of dust and fists that was forming behind her, while Okina sweat-dropped at their actions. Kenshin was Oroing, and Kaoru looked close to losing her temper. Shinya laughed at it all…

Until it hit him.

The sick, unnerving feeling of detachment fell over him, making him hurt all over and feel like he wanted to throw up. He staggered back into the wall, clutching his head and whimpered. Lights seemed to flash behind his closed lids.

Kenshin was the first to notice something was wrong. Hearing the quiet whimper, he looked round to see Shinya looking stark white, his body shaking as he held onto his head as though his life depended on it. Kenshin's eyes widened. He had never seen Shinya look so…so weak before.

"Shinya?"

The boy's eyes flew open and he gasped for breath, as if he hadn't been breathing at all. "Shinya? Daijobu de gozaru ka?" he reached out to touch Shinya's shoulder, to see if he was feeling okay, but to his surprise, the boy flinched away and straightened, Amethyst locking onto his own. His eyes seemed to flash with some conflicting emotions – was that fear he could see? But before he could properly register them they were gone. "I…"

Kaoru suddenly seemed to have caught onto the fact that not all was right and she came up to check the boy. "Is everything alright? You look a bit pale."

Shinya looked at them for a second, before seemingly pulling himself together and straightening, though Kenshin was a little unnerved by the amount of weight he rested on the wall, as if frightened he might fall over. "I'm fine…"

Kaoru peered into his face, a little concerned. "Are you sure? I've never seen you look so white."

Shinya nodded and forced a smile onto his face, though it didn't stay put for long. "It's okay, It happens a lot, I'm used to it. I…I think I just moved to fast. It happens sometimes."

Kenshin wasn't so sure about that. Sure, people get dizzy if they stand up to fast, but Shinya was already standing and he looked close to fainting. However, Shinya looked very uncomfortable with the attention. He decided to drop it…for now. "Well, If you're sure you're all right…"

Shinya nodded, glad that he was taking his word for it. He couldn't tell them what was really happening. That he was vanishing because something was about to happen…or not happen. However, the moment of danger had passed. He could feel himself whole again. The last thing he needed now was Kenshin and Kaoru getting suspicious of him. He knew he was looking a little stronger now. Plus he didn't feel like he needed to hold onto the wall to keep him on his feet. He smiled. "Hai! Daijobu!"

"Hmm…" Kenshin looked a little unsure, but dropped the matter

However, a sudden scream jolted them all from their thoughts – even Sanosuke, Misao and Yahiko stopped fighting mid punch to hear. Shinya frowned to Kenshin and Kaoru, both of whom looked startled, the whole thing they had seen seemed to have been swept from their minds. Ayame and Suzume clutched hold of Megumi's kimono in fear. "What was that?" Shinya asked.

Aoshi looked around, his eyes narrowed. "Trouble." He noted, his hand going to his sword tucked within his trench coat.

They didn't need to ask what the trouble was. The screams grew louder and the crowds parted in fear as a woman ran through the streets in a panic, her dark hair streaming out behind her. "Tasukete kure!" she shouted. "Please, please help me!" She caught sight of the group. Her eyes rested on the weapons they had – Yahiko with his Shinai, Shinya and Kaoru's Bokken, Kenshin's sakabato. She came to them and threw herself at Kenshin's knees. Kenshin Oroed loudly. "Please help me! There are men back there – they're trying to kill me!"

The words were barely out of her mouth when at least twenty men stormed across to them, swords drawn. One, who appeared to be the leader of then group, pointed his blade at them. "Give us the woman, and we'll let you live, little man." He growled. Kenshin's face was quite cold.

Kaoru pulled her bokken out. "What do you want her for?"

"Why the hell should we tell you. If you value your lives, you'd better give that girl to us or else!"

The woman shrank back and whimpered, tears of fear and panic running down her face. Yahiko growled. "As if, you big ugly!"

Sanosuke cracked his knuckles. "It ain't nice to demand stuff of other people by pointing a word at 'em. It makes me sick that you'd pick on a girl 12 on one don't seem like fair odds if you ask me."

The man looked as if he was about to chop Sanosuke's head off, but the glares of the other Oniwabanshu made him hesitate for a second. He snarled. "Fine then. You can just die with her!"

They pounced. Kenshin and Aoshi rushed forward and steel met steel. Shinya and Yahiko pulled the woman to her feet and told her to go with Megumi and the girls. Shinya turned to Yahiko. "We've gotta keep them of Megumi and the others."

Yahiko smirked. "Don't worry. Yahiko Myojin won't let them get past him!"

Kaoru brought her bokken down hard on the head of a man who tried to get past her, but had to dodge as another swung at her head. Kenshin and Aoshi had managed to hold off most of them, but these guy weren't just a bunch of thieves or bandits. They were trained and very strong – and seemed to know well how to launch group attacks. Misao kicked one in the head as he missed Kaoru, sending him crashing to the floor in a trail of dust. Okina smacked another in the face with his nun-chucks, but still they did not pull back and some slipped through towards Megumi, the girls and the strange woman. Ayame wailed. However, Shinya ducked a sword swing and caught the man in an upward swing of his bokken, smashing his jaw and sending him toppling backwards, but a second man thrust his sword towards his chest.

"Woah!"

Shinya spun to avoid it, the sword slicing through the material of his gi, but missed its target. Yahiko struck the man's arm away from Shinya, before swinging it hard at the man's legs. He stumbled long enough for Shinya to thrust his bokken at the man's exposed chest, sending him crashing to the ground with a cut off cry.

All in all, It had taken them all about three minutes or so until Kenshin had sent the last man crashing, unconscious, to the ground. They hesitated, waiting to see if any of them would rise up to fight again, but it seemed they were all down for the count. Around them, the people were crowded, looking confused, scared and were talking in hurried whispers. Kenshin turned to the nearest group. "Would you please fetch the police? These men will need to be taken in, de gozaru"

The group froze for a second, before hurrying off in the direction of the police station. Kenshin was sure that Saito would want to question them.

Meanwhile, Shinya approached Ayame and Suzume, who had their faces buried in Megumi's kimono. When he came close, they peered out at him, eyes shining fearfully.

"Have the bad men all gone?" Ayame asked waveringly.

Shinya nodded and ruffled the little girl's hair. "They're all gone now, they aren't gonna hurt anyone. Ken-nii has made them stop. It's Okay, you can come out now."

Ayame nodded tearfully and Shinya gave them a quick hug to comfort the frightened children. Beside them, the woman stood shakily to her feet. Shinya glanced over at the woman. She was quite tall – about the same height as Megumi, with long, dark hair that fell in waves down her back, though some of it was gathered in a knot behind her head, held back by an elaborate looking pin. Her Kimono looked as if it was made of fine silk of high quality – a jet black in contrast to pale, snow-like skin, an eastern, ruby coloured dragon wound it's was up her thigh. The obi was a dark crimson colour, like flames, tied in an intricate bow around the back. Round her shoulders was a blood-red shawl. However, what Shinya noticed the most was her eyes. Jet-black and dark as pitch, he felt he was looking down an endless tunnel. Cold and empty. Shinya couldn't help it. He shivered to look at them, the sick feeling close to the surface again. Ruthlessly, he pushed the feeling away again before it became another full-blown fit, but harder was it to push down the dark feeling of suspicion that had taken hold the moment he met the woman's eyes.

Sanosuke turned to the woman, his expression mirroring Shinya's feelings. "So, what the hell was that all about?" he kicked the nearest attacker with a toe. "Why were these guys chasing you?"

The woman turned to Sanosuke and shook her head slowly, tears forming in her eyes. Shinya immediately felt guilty for his suspicions of the woman...almost. But somethingat the back ofhis mind kept nagging at him. "They've been after me for some time now…" she said. Her voice was smooth, like honey. "My husband was a wealthy merchant, you see, but he died some time ago under mysterious circumstances. Since then, these men have been trying to attack me. I think it has something to do with gaining my late husband's fortune…" She bowed low to them. "Thank you so much for rescuing me. If it weren't for you, I might have died." She glanced at Yahiko and Shinya. "And how young some of you are – just children, yet so skilled."

Shinya blinked. "Hang on, how old do you think I am? I'm fifteen, you know."

Everyone face-vaulted.

"W-what!" cried Yahiko. "I though you were my age!"

"What!" Shinya spluttered. "Like hell I am! What doi you mean 'The same age as you!'" dammit, he hated when people thought he was just a little kid. He got it enough back home.

"Yah! First Himura, then his Shishou, now Harada-kun - What going on!" Misao whaled

Kaoru was the first to recover. She turned to the woman "What do you mean, for you're husband's fortune?"

Yahiko pointed to her. "Um…who are you, anyway?"

"Yahiko-kun!" Okina sounded scandalised, either by Misao's rudeness or the fact it was the fact the woman she was being rude to was stunningly beautiful, Shinya wasn't sure.

However, if the woman was displeased, she didn't show it. In fact, she took it quite good-naturedly. "The least I can do for my rescuers is to tell you my name." She said. She smiled. "My name is Yoake - Yoake Isuzu. Pleased to make you're acquaintance."

Shinya wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a rather malevolent light flash in those pit-like eyes and he shivered. Was it just him, or was their something strange about this Yoake character…?

TBC

Chosha's notes 

_Ugh! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I was having trouble with this chapter, so, as previously said, I apologise for the seriously late update on this. So don't hurt me if this went badly. However, please review._

_To be honest, I'm not so fond of this chapter, but you'd skin me alive if I fiddled round with it any more. But I promise that I'll try better on the next chapter!_

_By the way, 'Shujin' means master (as in servant to master, not master of martial arts, etc)._ '_Tasukete kure' is basically a cry for help._

_Next time on Fading Futures_

_Yoake invites the gang to her mansion on the outskirts of Kyoto for the festival! Woah, living the life of luxury. However, It seems the boys are feeling a little uneasy with the whole situation…next episode: Isuzu mansion_

_Ja ne for now!_

_Chosha Kurenai xXx_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chosha's notes**

_Konnichiwa minna-san, and welcome back to Fading Futures. Thank you all who reviewed last time. I'm glad none of you decided to kill me for that very late update (though you were all damn close, I tell you.) But, as you can see, I haven't abandoned the story and hopefully I won't get the dreaded writer's block again. I have, unfortunately, though, started exams (oh the horror!) so I now have that filling up some of my writing time. Ugh! But, anyways, here is chapter eighteen!_

_Disclaimer: Ugh! Why me! Why me! (Bangs head on table) I don't own either the Manga or the Anime of RK, so bugger off!_

_Last time on Fading Futures_

_During Misao's grand tour of Kyoto, the gang saved a woman named Yoake Isuzu from her pursuers, but Shinya's got a bad feeling about this particular woman…_

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Isuzu Mansion **

After the incident in the street where they had saved the woman Yoake from a rather gruesome death, the Kenshin-Gumi found them-selves back in the Aoiya, trying to work out what could have caused them to start attacking the woman in the first place. At first, Okina had offered to take the woman back home, just in case anything else happened, until a servant of some kind ran up to her and, after giving them a lot of thanks for saving his mistress got her home again. He had said he had got split up from his mistress in the crowd, which was quite understandable – what with the crowds that had come for the festival. However, that was several hours ago and darkness was beginning to fall. Kaoru, Misao, Yahiko and the other Onmitsu (minus Aoshi) had already turned in for the night. Sanosuke was trying to goad Aoshi into playing dice with him, though failing miserably, while Kenshin – who was just too good to play against anyway - sat quietly drinking his tea and smiled at Sanosuke's antics.

(CK note: In the manga, Kenshin always guessed the roll correctly, so I'm going with that, as it looks like Kenshin loses on purpose in the anime. Well, that's what I think, anyway…)

Shinya, however, sat idly staring into his teacup, trying to analyse the strange sense of foreboding he had got from the rich woman. Perhaps it was because he had had another of his fits mere seconds before she arrived, and therefor became a little paranoid anyway, but he couldn't help but feel a little suspicious of her. He sighed. Perhaps he just needed a second opinion…

"Daijobu, de gozaru ka?" asked Kenshin, who had overheard the soft sigh from the younger boy. Shinya gave a start.

"Nani? Oh…no, nothings wrong. Just thinking…" He took at sip of his tea and tried not to pull a face because it was now stone cold. _Note to self, _he thought as he wrinkled his nose_, next time, drink the tea _before_ spacing out_. Shinya glanced at Kenshin. Well, he wanted a second opinion on Yoake, so why not ask Kenshin? After all, Kenshin's Ki sensing was twice that of Shinya (who, of course, was not fully trained yet.) so he might have got a better reading on her. Licking his lips nervously, eyes fixed on the tatami mat, he said, "Ne, Kenshin?"

"Hai?"

"Ano…W…what do you think of this Yoake Isuzu person, anyway?"

"Hm…" Kenshin put his cup down and thought for a moment. "Sessha…is not overly sure about her himself, de gozaru." He admitted after a moment. "Why do you ask?"

Shinya shifted a little as the room went quiet as Sanosuke shut up to listen. However, he took a deep breath and decided to tell them of his own suspicions, just in case. "Well…I dunno, but… I just got this feeling off her, when I looked in her eyes. They were…blank - emotionless. Perhaps it was just cause she was scared, but…Maybe its just me, but there's something up with her…"

Kenshin and Sanosuke exchanged a look and, for a moment, Shinya thought they would just laugh at him. However, much to his surprise, they both looked thoughtful. "You know…Shinya does have a good point," Kenshin said after a moment. "There is something strange about her. Sessha doesn't know what it is, though. It was almost as if she recognised us, but Sessha has never seen her before."

"I definitely haven't," Sanosuke said. "Che, I think I'd remember somethin' like that. I haven't heard of the name Isuzu, either." He crossed his arms. "Looks like we're gonna have to keep an eye on that broad"

"I'll have the Oniwabanshu look into it." Aoshi said, causing everyone to jump and stare at the Okashira. That was the most Shinya had ever heard the guy say. "I must agree with Battosai and the child – something seems…wrong with the woman."

"I hope we're wrong," Kenshin sighed, and took a sip of his tea, leaving everyone to be lost in their own thoughts.

o0o

Shinya woke the next morning to a loud commotion coming from somewhere down stairs. He blinked; wondering what all the noise was about. It wasn't the sounds of anyone in trouble, but it sounded like Misao was excited about something. Shinya groaned after a moment and attempted to throw his covers over his head in a vain effort to block out the sounds. Ever since his fit yesterday, Shinya had been feeling rather fragile, for lack of a better word. He knew that the Talisman's power had diminished and now Shinya was spending a lot of time fighting off the awful feelings before they became full-blown attacks. In other words, Shinya felt tired, even though he had managed to get several hours of sleep in last night. However, even with the blankets round his head, he could still here the commotion from the group, so gave it up as a bad job.

Sleepily, Shinya shoved off the blankets and, rubbing his eyes, began to dress himself in a navy gi and pale blue hakama and, sliding open his bedroom door, stumbled down the stairs.

When he reached the main room, he found himself standing, one hand on the banister, blinking rather stupidly at the sight in front of him. Kenshin was holding some type of letter and everyone was staring over his shoulder (minus Aoshi, who remained seated and sipping on his tea as if this was a normal occurrence). Misao was talking very fast and excitedly about something, while Sanosuke complained how loud she was being. Ayame and Suzume, who seemed to have recovered from their fright from yesterday, were cheering about something. Only Aoshi acknowledged him as he entered the room – a small, curt nod of the head in his direction, which Shinya returned, before looking over the group again. Running his fingers through his still bed-tousled hair, Shinya decided to break into…whatever it was and find out what on earth was going on.

"Chotto!" he said, but no one heard him. Annoyed (he was still a little grouchy from being disturbed and the fact he felt bad anyway), Shinya took a deep breath. "OI!"

Everyone immediately fell silent and turned to look at Shinya. "What's going on?" he asked, glad to have finally got their attention (and the ability to think over the noise once more.)

Misao, in perfect Misao style, was the first to recover. "Ohayo, Shinya-kun." She said cheerfully, "We just got a letter from that woman we saved yesterday. She's inviting us for a tour round her mansion."

"You mean that Yoake person?" Shinya asked, his eyebrows raised as he accepted the letter from Kenshin to have a look at what it said. The writing was on rather fine looking paper, written in a rather elegant hand that made Shinya's writing look like hen scratchings.

Dear my rescuers, (it said)

I would like to thank you for the help you gave to me the other day. In gratitude, I would like to invite you to Isuzu Mansion for a guided tour and free access to any luxury I can give to you. At ten O'clock today, a carriage will arrive to transport you to my humble abode. I sincerely hope that you will attend, as I feel indebted to you for all you did for me.

My thanks again,

Yoake Isuzu

"Wow…she seems sort of desperate to make it up to us, huh?" Shinya said, wide eyed as he looked down on the paper.

"Doesn't give much room for a disagreement, either, does she?" Okina noted.

"Aw, come on Gramps, it'll be fun," Misao said, cheerfully. "I mean, how many times can you go to see a mansion, anyway?"

Sanosuke gave Kenshin a side-glance. "Why do I get the feeling its gonna be that Izu episode all over again?" Kenshin sweat dropped at that.

"Oro…"

Kaoru just smiled. "It can't be all bad," she said, brightly. "And anyway, we're just going to be visiting, aren't we? I'm sure it'll be fine," she gave Sanosuke and Yahiko a hard glance. "As long as you guys behave this time." She growled at them.

Shinya grinned as they coward, all weariness forgotten. "Why, what did you guys do this time? Blow up the place?"

"Ha, ha, very funny, Ko-oni," Sanosuke grumbled.

Meanwhile, Kenshin was very quiet as he watched the group argue good-naturedly, unsure about the whole thing. Something…something didn't quite feel right, just like Shinya had said the night before. He wasn't sure whether to trust the woman or not. Kenshin bowed his head, playing with the leather wrappings of his sakabato. Either way, he would stay on guard and watch. Whatever happened, he was not going to loose them. Whatever happened…

Everyone was interrupted when the inn door opened and an old, balding man dressed in very smart western clothing stepped through. For a moment, everyone turned and blinked.

"I'm sorry to intrude," said the man, "But I am here to collect the group who saved Yoake-sama yesterday. My mistress asked me to accompany you." He bowed. "My name is Kagehisa Mazaki. I have a carriage waiting. My mistress awaits your arrival."

"I guess we're going then?" asked Megumi.

"Ooo, please, Ken-nii, can we go?" asked Ayame excitedly.

Kenshin hesitated, then nodded. "I guess so… that is, if Kaoru-dono wants to," he added.

Kaoru blushed a little at the gentlemanly thought, but smiled. "Alright, lets go."

"Wow, cool, I've never been to a mansion before!" Misao said, happily. She grabbed hold of Aoshi. "This'll be fun, ne, Aoshi-sama?" Somehow, Aoshi's eyes, to Kenshin, seemed to almost melt at the hyperactive girl…almost.

Mazaki waited patiently as the gang quickly got together their things for the trip. After about ten minutes, they were finally ready to go and headed outside to see a rather fine looking carriage headed by two elegant black stallions. It was jet black with rich looking deep purple velvet curtains draped over the windows, making them think of some of the expensive items owned by the rich men they had already come into contact with, Like Jusanro Tani, Kanryu Takada or even Yutaro. The door of the carriage was marked with some sort of seal, a dragon surrounded by sakura, if Shinya noted it correctly.

"Hey, I've seen that symbol before!" Misao pointed to the crest.

Shinya glanced at her, confused. "You have?"

"Yeah, but I can't remember where…" she added, frowning with thought. "Oh yeah! It belongs to the Isuzu shipping company. It recently got started up a few years back. Hey, Old man," she yelled over to the messenger, "You didn't tell us that Yoake-san worked for that company."

The old man turned round. "Ah, but she doesn't," the man said, looking over at them with a sly smile. "She owns it."

"NANI!" They all gasped.

"After her husband, Hayao Isuzu, died, Yoake-dono has been working hard to keep the company in business. She works so extremely hard; it's hard not to worry about the mistress at times." Mazaki nodded and opened the carriage door for them. "Now, If you would step this way…"

Ayame and Suzume cheered and dashed forward, clambering into the carriage, giggling. The other's looked at each other, before grinning and following the girls into the coach. It was like a tardice, were Shinya's first thoughts on their transportation. Even though it had looked relatively small on the outside, it was big enough to fit himself, Kenshin, the girls, Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke, Megumi, Misao, Aoshi and Okina in their snuggly. Seconds later, Mazaki climbed up into the drivers seat and, with a flick of his whip, the horses began to trot and the carriage made its way through the busy streets.

"Wow, this is going to be so much fun. I can't wait to see what Yoake-san's mansion looks like!" Kaoru said to Misao with a giggle. Shinya saw Kenshin give her a small smile.

It wasn't long until the coach made its way through a pair of large, intricate designed gates and into a beautiful courtyard surrounded by pale whitewashed walls. They all attempted to look out at the mansion through the windows in awe.

The mansion was of western style with white walls and what seemed like thousands of windows spanning the front. One of the windows – a large round one situated high above the front door in a tower-like room was made of stain-glass, depicting a rampant red dragon, similar to the one on the symbol for the Isuzu company. The doors themselves were made of dark oak, under an archway, covered in intricate carvings of sakura and other blossoming plants. The door handles glinted gold in the sun's light. The roof was a deep brown-red colour and their seemed to be a few turret-like rooms, one of which seemed to be some sort of auditorium, if Shinya hadn't missed his guess.

All in all, the building was breath taking. Even Shinya, who had grown up in the bustling high-tech city of modern-day Tokyo, complete with its sky-scraping buildings, felt completely awed by this building in front of them.

Mazaki climbed off the front of the carriage and opened the door for them with a bow. "Welcome to Isuzu mansion."

"Woah, this place is huge!" Sanosuke said with a long low whistle.

"It's got to be bigger than Yutaro's mansion!" Yahiko added, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Misao jumped up and down on the balls of her feet happily. "Wow oh wow! Look Aoshi-sama! It's so pretty!"

Aoshi remained silent. However, no one but perhaps Kenshin and Shinya seemed to notice as everyone else was talking rapidly about how beautiful the mansion looked.

However, everyone was cut off when the front doors opened wide by two servants and a woman stepped out. Shinya had to do a double take – this woman was the one they had saved only the day before. But by Jove, did she look different! The woman no longer looked scared or terrified, but regal and stood tall with an elegance that not even the emperor himself could pull off. Her Hair was pulled up into a bun at the back of her head, held together by two intricate gold pins with rubes at the top, though some of her hair curled around her ears in long ringlets that reached her shoulders. She was wearing a red kimono that had blue flames rising from the bottom and her sleeves. Around her slim waist was a cream coloured obi marked with sakura blossoms that was tied in an complicated bow at the back that just bewildered the males in how it was possible to do such a thing. She wore a blue shawl about her shoulders and high geta on her feet. Her lips were a blood red, and her eyelids were covered in a pale green. She seemed more like the millionaire that she must be. She seemed to glide as she came out to meet them.

"Welcome, my friends to my humble abode," she said in her silk-soft voice. "I hope that the journey was quite comfortable?"

"Very!" Misao said. "It was like being one of those rich people!"

Yoake smiled softly. "I'm glad. I'm also happy you could make it. I never truly got to thank my rescuers for the other day. Firstly, would you please tell me your names, so that I may know whom to thank for saving my life? My companion was so worried for me, that we never did get properly introduced."

"Of course!" Kaoru said pleasantly. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya, assistant master of Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, and these are my students, Yahiko Myojin and Shinya Harada."

"Sessha is Kenshin Himura, de gozaru."

"My name is Nenji Kashiwazaki, but people call me Okina"

"I'm Misao Makimachi! And that's Aoshi Shinomori-sama!"

"Sanosuke Sagara."

"I'm Megumi Takani, and these two are Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan."

Yoake smiled radiantly at them. "Welcome all of you! I hope that one day I will be able to make it up to you for everything you have done for me. However, for now, if you would step this way and I will show you around my mansion." She led the way through the ornate doors past the two servants who stood either side. After glancing at each other, they followed her through and what they saw took their breath away.

The entrance hall was huge, easily twice the size of the dojo with a high ceiling and an extravagant chandler. A marble staircase led to the upper floors with dark oak banisters that shone, so smooth were they polished. Around the walls were occasional westernised statues made of white marble and the floor was decorated by a mosaic shaped like a sun that seemed to reflect the light from the large windows around the room. Yoake allowed them all time to stare in wonder at the place.

"What do you think?" she asked with a smile. "It had been built for my husband two years ago. The best builders and craftsmen worked on it for months. Even after he died, I could not leave this place after so much work went into it."

"Its amazing!" Kaoru said happily gazing around with shining eyes.

"It's even bigger than Yutaro's!" Ayame exclaimed.

Shinya glanced over at Yahiko with a smirk. "One of these days you're going to have to tell me all about this Yutaro."

"It must have cost millions," Misao was saying, looking just about ready to burst from excitement.

"It was a little expensive, but it means a lot to me – the last legacy of Hayao. But while you are here, I hope you will treat this as your own. It's the least I can do. You're welcome to make yourselves at home."

"Oh wow!" Yahiko said excitedly and with the little girls dashed off to explore, leaving Kaoru yelling after them in exasperation. Kenshin sweat-dropped.

"Gomen na, Yoake-dono," he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "They're just a little over-enthusiastic, de gozaru."

Yoake laughed – it sounded like a slivery bell. "No, no, that's quite alright. How about I give you the guided tour? Then we can head off for the dinning room. The resident chief here is quite talented."

Sanosuke's eyes lit up. Megumi rolled here eyes. "Don't look now, but the rooster here will probably eat you out of house and home, Yoake-san."

Sanosuke glared. "Shut it, kitsune-onna!"

"The truth hurts, does it? Ohohoho!"

"That demented personality will never change, will it?"

"Maa, maa, can't you get along, de gozaru…" sighed Kenshin.

"Stay out of this, Kenshin!" growled Sanosuke.

"Don't be a jerk, Sanosuke! We're guests!" hissed Kaoru.

"Yes, poor Ken-san was only trying to protect a helpless lady, weren't you, Ken-san" Megumi said, wrapping her arms round him.

"Oro!"

A vein throbbed in Kaoru's head. "Me-gu-mi-saaaaaaan!"

Shinya just shook his head and sighed, rubbing his forehead wearily and glanced around. However, his eyes landed on Yoake, who was looking at them with something close to a sinister smile. Shinya tensed. What the-? However, before he could work out what that meant, those coal-dark eyes rested on Shinya and the sneer vanished, replaced by the sugary-sweet smile. Shinya's eyes narrowed. She was hiding something, he knew it and she knew he knew. What was that woman up to? Shinya crossed his arms and blew through his nose. Whatever it was, he was going to find out!

**TBC**

* * *

**Chosha's Notes**

_Well, what do you think? I should be going into some more interesting stuff real soon, since I've been building tension the past to chapters, but you'll see why next time. A few notes for you_

_Right, firstly, I made reference to the 'Izu Episode', which only happens in the anime version of the whole Raijuta/ Yutaro thing. That would be about episodes 19, 20 and 21 in the Tokyo arc. The Isuzu shipping company is not historical or anything, but a made up thing for Yoake and the rest in this story. I'll tell you why at some point in the story, just not this time, as it is not important until later and would give too many spoilers for later on if I tell you now. Anything you wanna comment on? Don't hesitate to review and tell me. Hell, just review anyway and tell me what you think!_

_Oh yeah! 'Chotto' is the more polite version of 'Hey!' and 'Oi' is a more vulgar form, usually used in arguments._

_Next time on Fading Futures:_

_The Kenshin-Gumi complete their visit to the mansion, but something, or someone, is obviously unhappy with their involvement with this Yoake woman. Next Episode: Midnight Fight!_

_But, until then, Ja ne!_

_**Chosha Kurenai xXx**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chosha's Notes**

CK:(Peers out from the protection of her bedroom) Uh…hey everyone. Right, now before you kill me, let me explain. I have been a very busy person lately, what with my new job and also starting university soon, I haven't had much time to spend on my stories. But, as you can see, I'm still alive-

Shinya (leaning against the door): for the moment, anyway.

CK: Oi, oi, oi, you can't kill me! Who'll finish the story off then?

Shinya: oops. Didn't think of that.

CK: (sighs and puts head in hands) Baka.

Anyway, thank you for being so patient. But, you know what, I realised something. WHERE THE HELL HAS TSUBAME GONE! I mean, she was on the boat and then…Agh! I've made her vanish! Um…just pretend she was there, all right? She's appearing again soon. Anyways, I won't keep you, so thank you to everyone that reviewed and lets get on with the show!

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is Copyright © Nobuhiro Watsuki. Fading Futures is a Fanfiction, and not intended as infringement on any of those copyrights.

Last time on Fading Futures:

Shinya, Misao, Aoshi and the Kenshin-Gumi are shocked when they received an invitation to Yoake's mansion. But while everyone seem to be enjoying the visit, Shinya and Kenshin have their own suspicions about this mysterious woman Yoake…

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Midnight Fight!**

Isuzu mansion, in Shinya's honest opinion, had to be one of the grandest buildings that this time period had to offer. He was sure that it would even outmatch that of some of the government buildings, such as the department of internal affairs back in Tokyo. As Yoake gave them the guided tour of what she had referred to as her 'Humble abode'; the Kenshin-Gumi couldn't help but stare. Each and every room from the library, furnished with it's dark oak shelves and filled with volumes old and (for this time, anyway) new, smelling of new leather, to the highest room of the astrology tower complemented the extravagant entrance hall to perfection. Although he couldn't say that he actually liked the owner, he couldn't help but be held in awe of such a place.

It must have taken them at least an hour before they came to the last room. The large double-doors – western in style – stood towering above them so that at least six Sanosukes would have to stand on each other's shoulders to reach the top. The doors were a gleaming dark oak with the Isuzu family crest carved into the wood. The doorknobs were a polished bronze, shaped like curled up dragons, their teeth bared in an eternal snarl.

Yoake smiled at them as she gestured to the new door with a graceful hand. "Lastly, this is the dining hall, which is used for banquets here at the mansion. Since Hayao died, it hasn't been used much. However, I do hope you will enjoy our hospitality by dining with me for lunch today. Follow me."

The two servants who had been tailing them throughout the tour immediately hurried over to Yoake's side and with no little effort pushed the doors open wide.

To say it was impressive would have been the understatement of the century.

The room almost reminded Shinya of Hogwarts great hall in the movies – except without the enchanted ceiling, of course. Above them stood the stain-glass window of the rampant dragon that they had seen outside, but as the sun shone it bathed the room in rainbow colours. The white-washed walls were pale as ivory, with pillars that stood straight and tall, caved into angel-like figures with wings furled and their hands raised, holding up the rest of the pillar, their faces soft and their eyes staring blankly to the heavens. They stood evenly placed all down the hall until the end wall, where a giant fireplace stood baring the family symbol, while the grate held the fire that burned merrily behind the guard. High above them was a chandelier supporting the most crystal that Shinya had ever seen in one sitting. The floor was decorated with an intricate designed carpet, while in the room's centre stood a dark oak table that stretched down the hall, surrounded by wooden, high-backed chairs padded with a rich crimson velvet. An array of silverware had already been placed at the table and you could already smell the mouth-watering dishes that were hidden beneath the domes of silver.

"SUGOI!" Sanosuke and Yahiko gasped, their eyes widening to the size of plates. Shinya was tempted to roll his eyes, but even he couldn't take his eyes off the scene.

"Oh dear, watch out, Yoake-san – Sanosuke and Yahiko-kun over here might just eat this all for you," Megumi chuckled, causing Sanosuke to glare daggers at her, while Yahiko growled and proceeded to stick out his tongue. Tsubame blushed a little, trying to hide. Kenshin just sighed.

"Maa, maa, can't we please not argue? (For once…)" he added under his breath. Shinya couldn't help but snicker a little at that.

Yoake laughed softly. "Oh, there's no need to worry. I'm quite sure that there is enough to go around. Please, take a seat."

Sanosuke and Yahiko didn't need telling twice. They immediately dashed over to the table and were seated before Shinya could even blink_. Now if Yahiko was just that fast with his training_, thought Shinya impishly, _then he might even beat Kenshin and that was saying something._

Beside him, Kaoru just put a hand to her head and sighed. "Boys." She grumbled.

Megumi shook her head. "Tell me about it…"

Misao looked as if she was about to say something, when she looked over at the table again and realised that Okina was now there, looking ready to bang his knife and fork on the table. She crashed to the ground.

"GRAMPS!"

For the first time, Shinya saw Aoshi do something close to a sweat-drop…almost.

However, they were not to be put off and got to their seats as well. Kenshin quickly stood behind Kaoru, adjusting her seat for her. Kaoru beamed up at him. "Arigato, Kenshin," she said softly, blushing a little. Kenshin just smiled and took the seat beside her. Yoake took the chair at the head of the table and sat down elegantly, one of the servants adjusting her chair for her before backing away with a bow. The woman snapped her fingers and more servants came and removed the silver domes from the plates. Everyone gasped in delight.

If they had thought it had smelled good, it was nothing compared to how everything looked. There were dishes from all over Japan, from spiced miso soup to the most tender and delicious Fish they had ever laid eyes on. It took up almost all of the large oval plate that stood in the centre of the table. As they looked over it, there were also some foreign dishes too, some that the Kenshin-Gumi recognised, such as Sukiyaki (aka beef-pot), but there were also some that only Shinya would be likely to have identified.

Yoake spread her arms with a wide smile. "Please, help yourselves."

"Oh Yes, Oh yes!" Sanosuke grinned, knife and fork in hand, almost drooling over the food. "Itadakimasu!"

The others hurriedly followed suit (before Sanosuke ate it all). "Itadakimasu!" and began to dish out everything they wanted onto their silver plates and started to eat.

Shinya took a little of the food doubtfully. Apart from the fact that for some reason he just did not feel all that hungry – damn that stupid fading! – He was also wasn't convinced that it wasn't poisoned or something.

Yoake must have seen Shinya's hesitation, or read his mind, for she laughed her silvery laugh. "Come, Harada-san, it's not poisoned or anything."

Shinya blushed furiously. "I-I know that!" he retorted as politely as one could and shoved some fish in his mouth to cover up his embarrassment. Yoake just laughed once more

Kenshin, however, looked up at Shinya through his bangs. It had been bothering him for a while – he was certain that there was something not quite right about Shinya, either, as if he were suffering from some sort of illness, but Kenshin just couldn't place what it might be. Instead, he studied Shinya intently for the first time in days. Despite the fact that Shinya seemed to be acting fairly normally – except for being suspicious of Yoake – that was plain to read – Shinya's skin had a faint greyish tinge to it, and he seemed to be thinner than Kenshin remembered. However, Shinya was just picking at what little food he had put on his plate, as if he weren't hungry at all. He remembered how Shinya had acted just before they had run into Yoake and her pursuers. The way he had seemed so weak, and had to grip the wall as if he would just topple over. Remembered the flicker of fear in his eyes. Out of curiosity, he read Shinya's ki.

He almost dropped his fork at what he read.

Shinya's ki! It was fading…but that couldn't be right! Unnerved, Kenshin read Shinya's ki once more. Yes, there was no doubt about it. Shinya's ki was not as strong as it had been when Kenshin had first met. But how could that be possible?

Kenshin felt a movement from close by and he looked up to meet the ice-blue eyes of Aoshi, who nodded slightly, his eyes flicking towards where the raven-haired boy was sitting. Kenshin nodded back. No, he couldn't have been wrong. Not when it was obvious that Aoshi had also noticed, despite not having known Shinya for long. Kenshin looked over at Shinya once more, worriedly.

Something was wrong with Shinya…but why was he going to such lengths to hide it from them?

It didn't seem like long until the meal had been devoured - mostly a certain rooster and young swordsman - and Yoake had once more snapped her fingers. The doors swung open once more and in marched several servants, all bearing silver platters of desert. Sanosuke and Yahiko immediately fell upon eating it t a ravenous pace, despite the yelling that Misao and Kaoru gave them, and the teasing from Megumi, while everyone else followed at a much more reasonable pace. It didn't help that the way the two were eating with next to no manners was highly off-putting, Tsubame blushed furiously at how they were acting in front of their hostess. The only thing that Sanosuke said, however, was that forks were much easier for eating with than chopsticks… Unfortunately with his mouth full, almost spraying poor Aoshi with food, causing Aoshi to have to wipe off his face, looking as though he wanted to shish-kabob a certain rooster on the end of his kodachi. Everyone pretty much lost their appetites after that.

To be honest, Shinya thought as he sipped on his tea, he had given up on them.

The doors opened unannounced and everyone paused as a large man stepped through. He was tall, but not gigantic, with long, neat, raven-black hair that reached his shoulders, but tied back at the nape of his neck. His face was handsome in a rugged sort of way, except for his eyes under thick black brows that were steel grey and hard as iron. His chest that could be seen over the 'v' of his black gi was muscular, reminding Shinya of some of those Roman gladiators that he had read about. He was certain that this man must be strong. But he didn't look as if he was going to fight, as he was wearing his most formal clothing. On the left breast, he bore a symbol of a tiger of some kind.

"Sumimasen, Yoake-sama," the man said in a deep voice. "I must apologise for the intrusion."

"Ah, Saburo-kun," Yoake said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. She turned to the Kenshin-Gumi. "This is Saburo Shinzo – he works as my deputy in the company. Saburo-kun, these are the people who saved by life the other day."

Shinzo's eyes flashed a little, before he bowed graciously before them. "I'm honoured to meet the people who would risk their lives for Yoake-sama."

Shinya blinked, having noticed the eyes flashing. Was this man also hiding something, along with this Yoake? Were they together on…whatever it was that was that Yoake was hiding? Shinya frowned. Damn…as if all this wasn't complicated enough…

Everyone acknowledged what the man said with embarrassment. Well, in most cases anyway. Yoake, however, turned to the man. "What is it you wanted?"

Shinzo bowed once more. "Preparations have been completed. We should be ready within the hour." Yoake smiled.

Sanosuke frowned. "Preparations?"

Yoake nodded. "Yes. You see my company is mostly based at the port in Osaka, and we are at the moment in the middle of building a new ship for exporting goods. The building is in its final stages, so I must leave soon to check if the building has gone as planned. Yes, thank you, Saburo-kun." She added to the large man, who bowed and turned to leave, although Shinya did see a slight smirk on his face. Shinya almost groaned. As if trying to figure out Yoake wasn't hard enough! "I must apologises for this," Yoake continued. "But it seems our time together has grown short. I hope you won't be offended if I leave now. However, Mazaki-kun will escort you home once you are finished. But please, take your time. I would enjoy meeting you all again at a more leisurely time. Unfortunately, with the festival approaching, I will be unavailable, but afterwards, I would be honoured to have you visit again."

"Uwaaa, really?" Ayame asked, her eyes shining happily. "Arigato, Yoake-san!"

"Arigato!" Suzume piped up.

Yoake smiled at them and rose from her seat. With a graceful bow she turned and left. They were silent for a moment.

"Well, she did say take your time," Sanosuke started slowly, then grinned, "So lets have some more of this great grub!"

"Is food all you ever think about, rooster-head?" Misao growled.

Sanosuke clapped his hands over his ears. "Ugh! Weasel girl, turn it down!"

"I am NOT a weasel girl!"

Everyone winced at the fight that was insured.

Kenshin sighed beside a fuming Kaoru. "Here we go again. Yare, yare…"

**o0o**

It had taken them another good hour before they finally managed to drag Sanosuke away from the dining hall and made their way back to the carriage, which was waiting outside. Mazaki seemed disappointed that they were leaving so soon, but he had shrugged and opened the carriage door for them. The trip back was quite pleasant and relaxing, as the roads were quite smooth, so they made the most of this comfortable way of travelling. As Kenshin quietly reminded himself, it wasn't likely that they would get to travel in this style very often – especially with their merge savings.

When they had returned, the other four Onmitsu immediately bombarded them with questions, all of them feeling slightly envious that they had been unable to visit with them, so the rest of the afternoon was filled with excited and animated discussions about the Isuzu mansion. It had surprised Kenshin that they had managed to discus something for so long without it breaking into an argument. Of course, as soon as he thought that, there was a crashing sound as Yahiko, Misao and Sanosuke disappeared in a cloud of fists and dust. He sweat-dropped. So much for the peaceful afternoon…

Now, however, it had grown late. The sun had long since gone down on the horizon and the sky was now a deep, midnight blue. The stars were just beginning to become clear as diamonds and the moon was almost full. By Kenshin's calculations, it would become a full moon the night of the festival. Not that it was always full on the night of the star festivals, but the fact that it would be would certainly increase the mood of magic that the festival seemed to have. Everyone had retired to their rooms at the Aoiya for the night…all except Kenshin, that is, who was lying on the roof, his arm behind his head as he gazed up into the night sky, thinking over the events that had occurred that day.

There were a few things that were worrying him. First of all was Shinya's… condition, for lack of better words. He hadn't had much of a chance to talk with Aoshi about it yet, but he just couldn't understand what would make a person's ki fade like that, much less understand what it was that might actually be wrong with the boy. Yet there was still the fact that Shinya hadn't mentioned a word about it. Was it just because Shinya didn't realise it? No, that couldn't possibly be it. The emotion in his eyes after that strange 'fit' of his that he had the other day proved that. So, if he wasn't saying anything, could it be that Shinya was fine after all, but just a little tired? He just didn't know.

Then there was that man…Saburo Shinzo he believed his name was. That man also set the alarm bells ringing. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it wasn't unlike a sense of danger that he got from the man.

Kenshin sighed and sat up slightly to survey the darkening streets of Kyoto, deep in thought. He sighed again. Perhaps it was nothing at all. Although he was positively looking forward to the festival and was glad to meet up with Misao and Aoshi and the Oniwabanshu again, it still felt strange for him to be here in Kyoto once more. Perhaps it was that, with all its dark memories, that was setting his nerves on edge.

A flash of half-concealed ki suddenly came from close by, and Kenshin sat bolt upright, snatching up his sakabato, his eyes narrowing.

_Or perhaps it wasn't the memories after all…_

**o0o**

Shinya started at the slight noise within the darkness of the room, but remained as still as possible, wondering what it could have been that had awakened him. Keeping the appearance that he was asleep, he opened one eye a crack to take stock of the room he was sharing with the rest of the male Kenshin-Gumi. Yahiko was snoring loudly from somewhere near by, the form of Sanosuke could be seen out of the corner of his eye. However, he couldn't see where Kenshin was from his position.

He sighed a little and relaxed again. That was probably it. Kenshin occasionally went out at night for some reason or another, so perhaps it was him who had just left for a bit. Nothing to worry abou-

The sound of footsteps approaching cut off the line of thought and Shinya froze once more, listening. They didn't sound like Kenshin's – he barely made any noise when he moved. They seemed too heavy to be his anyway, yet at a slow pace, as if to make sure no one woke up from the sound. However, it didn't seem like any of the Onmitsu, nor the girls. Who on earth…?

Eyes still half closed, he moved ever so slightly so the he could see the door, from which the sound was coming from. The moonlight was coming from somewhere behind, illuminating the paper of the shoji. Behind it, a shadow moved quietly. Shinya frowned a little, trying to work out the form, but it was a complete mystery to him. Maybe…it was another guest? He thought hopefully. After all, they were staying at an inn, even if it was one run by ninja. But a strange nervousness crawled through his skin, making it unable for him to relax.

Damn it, he was going paranoid! And it's that Yoake's entire fault!

…_Wait_…

The figure paused outside of the room, the footsteps coming to a halt. Shinya kept still, barely breathing as he watched. What on earth… Why was he stopping?

Shinya mentally slapped himself. Oh this is stupid!

Using his rather limited ki sense, Shinya stretched it out towards the figure, brushing the edge of the figure's ki with his own. His eyes widened and he almost let out a yell, but forced himself to stay silent. There was a deep intent in that ki, and one that was far from benevolent or harmless. The feeling he got from it made him realise that if he made one move to let the figure know he was awake before the time was right, Shinya would probably find himself waking up in a morgue.

…Scratch that. He wouldn't be waking up at all!

Was this figure the reason why Kenshin wasn't here? They hadn't got him, had they? Shinya immediately shook the thought from his head. No, that was impossible. Kenshin wouldn't be beaten that easily, despite the murderous intent of this person. He was just too good for that. No one who could become a hitokiri at 14 and survive for as long as Kenshin did could be beaten that easily. Plus there was the fact that Kenshin was a far better reader of Ki than Shinya was, and Shinya himself had felt the man coming, even if the ki was half-concealed.

Besides, if something had happened to him, Shinya would definitely be the first to know about it!

The figure in the door approached the shoji and carefully began to prise it open slowly, so the movement wouldn't make the usual loud 'clack' as it opened. Shinya quickly took stock of himself. He was wearing nothing but a sleeping yukata, but that didn't put him off. With the way his grandpa trained him, Shinya had often had to evade surprise strikes from his own bed. He lay in a position that would be easy to manoeuvre from. Unfortunately, his bokken was lying just out of arms reach. Shinya kept deathly still. The good news was that he had thrown off the cover in the night because of the summer heat, so his arms and legs were free. If he were going to beat this man, he would have to rely on his martial arts until he could get his bokken.

For a moment, a panic set in - What about Yahiko and Sanosuke? Neither was awake (unless, of course, they were pretending, too…) so what if the figure headed for them instead. As ruthlessly as he could, he pushed away the thought. No, out of all of them, Shinya was the closest to the door, so it was more than likely that Shinya would be their first target.

Shinya mentally grimaced. Not that that made him feel any better…

The door was now opened – no sound had been made. Whoever it was definitely didn't want to be heard. Shinya kept still, listening as the footsteps drew close, and stopped right next to him. He kept his ki fixed on him as something scraped – a sound he recognised as that almost similar to Kenshin's Sakabato as it was drawn – the sound of a blade coming to life. Shinya's eyes opened a little to see the blade hovering over his form. It paused a moment, then it plunged down.

Shinya's eyes snapped open as his hands shot up and caught the blade, twisting it as hard as he could as he pulled himself on all fours, sending the blade plunging into the tatami mat with a loud thunk. The would-be assassin let out a strangled cry as he was sent over Shinya's lithe form into the set of draws behind with a loud crash. The boy hissed slightly at the dull pain in his hand, where the blade had cut him, but he ignored it as he rolled to his feet, snatching up his bokken in one swift movement.

Well, at least the noise served to wake the other two. Sanosuke scrambled to his feet, staring over between Shinya, the sword vibrating slightly from the impact, to the figure lying in a heap on the damaged furniture. Yahiko sat up with a snort, blinking round in surprise.

Shinya couldn't help but feel a slight stab of annoyance. So now they wake up? "Nice of you to join me," he said a little scathingly.

"What's going on?" Yahiko asked a little stupidly.

Shinya shrugged. "Apart from the fact that this guy just tried to kill us, I don't have a clue."

Yahiko's eyes widened to the size of plates. "Kill?"

However, nothing else could be said as the window burst open and in jumped two more men, their faces covered except for their eyes, their blades drawn as the charged. Yahiko leapt for his Shinai as Shinya dashed forward, bringing up his bokken to halt the first man's swing with a grunt, the sword biting deep into the bokuto wood. The man's eyes narrowed angrily and he pushed hard, aiming a knife at Shinya's feet. Shinya yelped as he moved his foot to avoid a skewering, but it forced him to fall out of stance, sending Shinya stumbling backward with the force of the assassin's push. Seeing the boy off balance, the man thrust forwards with his blade. Unable to dodge properly, Shinya did the only thing he could think of. He let himself fall to the floor and lashed out with his leg at the man's kneecap. Unfortunately, the man managed to twist out of his thrust, though Shinya's kick landed hard on the man's ankle, causing him to his with pain as he limped back. Yahiko saw his moment and struck down hard on the man's wrist, causing the blade to fall from the man's hand.

The second dashed towards Sanosuke, who dodged out of the way, snatching the man's wrist as he spun. The man's sword was forced into the wall, where it buried itself into the thick wood of the doorframe. The man attempted to tug it out to no avail. Sanosuke cracked his knuckles as he advanced. The man's eyes narrowed as he whipped round, having been unable to free the sword from the frame. A faint growl could be heard under the cloth and the man 's hand twitched, a kunai knife appearing in his hand from up his sleeve. He barely held it there before he threw it at Sanosuke, who managed to duck out the way just in time. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one in the kunai's path.

Well, unlucky if you were the other assassin, who was just recovering from Yahiko's strike. The blade hit him in the back, dead centre, causing the man to stiffen with a gasp, falling forward. There was a bang as he landed flat on his face, with Yahiko, who had been ready to strike again, gasping a little at what had happened, while Shinya levered himself from the floor, his eyes wide in shock. Sanosuke growled slightly as he snapped round to look at the second assassin once more.

"Getting' your friend with the attack? That don't impress me much!" he growled, bringing up his fist as he stood, landing a hard blow to the man's chin that literally lifted him from the floor. His head snapped back, smacking into the doorframe with a sickening crack. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Everyone was still for a moment, before Shinya shakily stood up again, his eyes fixed on the knifed man. "He…he hit the other guy…" he managed, shocked by what had occurred. Of course, it was better than the alternative, but it made Shinya feel cold inside. If that had been one of them…

A slight shifting behind him caused everyone to spin round in shock at the first man, the one who almost turned Shinya into a kabob, was rising to his feet. His head looking a little bloody from a cut made when his head had connected with the corner of the draws. He snarled behind the mask, lifting up the sword that he had managed to tug out from the tatami.

Shinya glared. He really wasn't in the mood for this…

Shinya twisted his body and lashed out in a vicious 'Ushiro-geri' back kick into the man's abdomen, just as Yahiko struck him hard with his Shinai. The man choked, unable to breathe from the impact of Shinya's foot and Yahiko's bamboo sword. He definitely was unable to dodge Sanosuke as he planted his fist in the bridge of the man's nose. He slumped, bonelessly, to the floor.

They stood there, panting a moment.

"D…do you think there are more?" Yahiko panted, his shinai at the ready.

A horrified yell and the sound o fighting reached their ears, making them freeze.

"That answer your question, Yahiko?" Sanosuke growled out. "Come on!"

**o0o**

Kaoru sighed as she snuggled deeper into her futon with contentment. Although it couldn't be much passed midnight, she had had the most wonderful dream, although it was also a little sad as well. She had dreamed that Koshijiro Kamiya, her father, hadn't died in the Seinan war, but was alive and well. He was smiling at her as he complemented her sword work. She had dreamed that her mother (though she couldn't quite make out her face) was also alive, smiling near by as she joked with Koshijiro about being so rough. She had dreamed that all of her new family – Dr Gensai and the girls, Yahiko, Sanosuke, Megumi, Shinya and Kenshin were also there. She remembered how Koshijiro had got on well with the boys and Kenshin and her mother also seemed to be on good terms with each other. It had felt so, well, normal, and yet made her feel so warm in side at the thought. It was a shame it had to end.

Now she thought about it…why did she wake up?

A slight shifting of cloth caused her to change her mind. It couldn't be from one of the others in the room? Her eyes fluttered open as she turned in her bed to try and look where the sound had come from. Her eyes widened and she gasped in shock. There, standing straddled above her was a man, his face covered in a cloth so only his eyes could be seen. They crinkled slightly as he grinned, his arms that held a spear-like weapon about a foot or so in length that glinted in the moonlight that flooded through the open bedroom window pulling back, ready to strike.

The blade plunged down.

Kaoru rolled away, jumping to her feet with a yell. Megumi, Tsubame and the girls woke up at the sound of her scream. Megumi looked round and grabbed a vase from the dresser, Staying in front of the younger girls, who were trembling.

"W-who are you!" she demanded. "What do you want!"

The man straightened, his eyes glinting. However, he ignored Megumi's question, turning to look at Kaoru once more, spear ready to hurl. "Heh, heh – for such a sleepy-head, you're damn quick on your feet!"

He got ready to throw the spear again.

"Kaoru!" Megumi yelled.

Kaoru's heart pounded. "D-damn…" she darted forward, flinging the discarded bed sheet over the assassin'' head, causing him to struggle as she attempted to back away. "Megumi-san run!"

But before they could do anything, the spear shot in Kaoru's direction. She yelled and ducked, the spear snagging on the neck of her yukata and throwing her against the wall. She grabbed it, trying to tug it out, but it was firmly planted, making her unable to move. The Ayame and Suzume screamed. Kaoru didn't look over at them though; her eyes fixed on the man with desperation as he threw the sheet from over his head. The man chuckled as he advanced.

"So you have some fight in you. Good." He slipped his hand into the neck of his dark gi, drawing out a tanto. "Its more fun when they try to fight back!" he lurched forward, intending to drive the blade into her. Kaoru's eyes widened. Was that it?

A sudden thought flashed through her mind. Something her father had said to her years ago.

"_Kaoru…if you ever find yourself cornered and fighting a foe without a weapon, then fight with your feet first. The leg has a much longer reach than the arm, and as the sword is of about arm length itself, using your feet could be the one thing that saves your life…"_

It only took half a second for it to flash through her mind, and she knew what to do. With a cry, she brought up her leg viciously – right between the man's legs. His eyes bulged, sweat poring down his face as he stumbled backwards, the tanto falling from his hands. He glared up at her with bloodshot eyes.

"You…you bitch!" he roared, but before he could even attempted to advance again, Megumi dashed forward and swung the vase hard. It smashed against the back of the man's head, causing him to pause, his body frozen. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor with a muffled 'phwump'.

"Th-thanks Megumi-san," Kaoru panted, as Megumi, followed by the girls and Tsubame attempted to tug the spear that trapped her. It took five strong tugs before they wrestled it free. Kaoru swallowed hard. "What the hell was that about?"

"Don't think its over," hissed a voice from behind and they spun round to find a new person advancing on them. They backed away, Kaoru snatching up her Bokken and jumping in front of them.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Why should I tell you that?" the assassin hissed and lurched forward –

Just as there was a yell from outside the door and it burst through as a man in the same uniform barrelled into it, thrown back by a powerful force. Everyone spun round, just as Kenshin dashed in, his sword drawn. Kaoru's eyes flickered from the man on the floor (who seemed to have been struck by a Battojutsu), back to the redhead at the door, who was glaring at the new man in the room. Kaoru felt herself beaming. Not for the first time did she think that that man had to have the most incredible timing in the world. It just had to be a gift.

Kenshin glared at the man, who obviously realised he was outmatched and backed away, before he turned and flung himself out of the window.

"No!" Kaoru gasped, dashing to the window, followed by a stunned Kenshin. However, there wasn't a mass of blood and the mashed remains of a body that she expected, but the man folded neatly to his knees, before sprinting away into the darkness. Despite herself, she sighed with relief. Even if the man was trying to kill them, she just didn't have it in her to see someone get killed or commit suicide.

Well, except maybe that Saito guy if he hadn't already died in the fire a year ago, like Sanosuke reported to them.

"Kaoru-dono? Megumi-dono? Minna…daijobu de gozaru ka?"

Kaoru glanced over at Kenshin, noticing the stressed look in his eye and she smiled. He relaxed a little, though still looked worried. "We're fine, Kenshin. Are you alright?" she added, as Kenshin swiftly sheathed his sword once more.

"Aa"

There was another bursting in at the door and everyone spun round at the ready. They nearly fainted in relief when they discovered it was only Sanosuke, Yahiko and Shinya bursting through the door, panting. Their yukata was rather ruffled, and Shinya's bokken was a little worse for wear – there was another notch in the wooden blade. Obviously they weren't the only ones to have been caught out by the assassins.

"Is everyone…okay?" Shinya gasped out.

"Yeah, we're alright," Kaoru said with a slight nod. "Just a little shaken."

"Was anyone hurt at all?" Megumi asked, instantly the doctor.

"Nah," Sanosuke said, flashing 5them a thumbs up. He looked round a little, his grin fading slightly. "Oi, where's weasel girl and icicle man?"

"You mean they weren't with you?" Kenshin asked.

"No, we didn't see anyone…" Yahiko said.

Everyone looked at each other, then bolted out the door (which was now lying in a rather sorry heap of trampled wood and paper on the floor) and dashed down the hall. Kenshin threw open the door.

Everyone nearly fell over at the sight that greeted them.

Aoshi was standing not far away, his face quite calm as he dropped the last man to the floor and sheathed his kodachi once more, while Misao, sat cross legged on the back of an unconscious man. Both wore nothing more that sleeping yukata. If it hadn't been for the fact that the situation was so serious, they probably would all be on the floor rolling about laughing. As it was, they simply crashed to the floor in shock and relief.

"Well?" Misao said, looking a little irritated. "What took you guys so long?"

The assassin beneath to her groaned slightly as he tried to move, but the vain throbbed and Misao smacked him hard over the head with her fist, sending him crashing to the floor again, a new lump forming on his head.

Shinya turned to Sanosuke from his position on the floor with a shudder. "Sano…remind me never to piss off Misao…ever."

Everyone was too inclined to agree.

To be continued…

**Chosha's Notes**

Well, that was a bloody long chapter! Got to be one of my longest I've done so far in Fading Futures. Twelve pages long! So, anyway, how was it? Was it good, bad, or just plain stupid? Please review. Also, I was wondering if anyone would like me to write a translation list for the Japanese that I have used in the story. To be honest, I didn't think of it before, so I'm asking now. Please tell me if you do in your review.

I don't think there is anything to comment on in this chapter, but if you see anything that needs explaining, just tell me and I'll do my best to get back to you on it.

Anyway, with that said, there's just one last thing for me to do!

Next time on Fading Futures:

Shinya and Misao team up to find out if the person they think might be behind those assassins is correct, while Kenshin and Aoshi head off to speak with Saito about the assassins. Next episode: Suspicions and discussions.

But, until then, Ja ne!

**Chosha Kurenai xXx**


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